If it paid to be honest I wouldn't be here
by Black Sheep
Summary: Sasuke is unaware of the price Naruto paid to get him back from Orochimaru. Now the blond has to learn to control his Inner demon, a past he had already forgotten and decide whether he can betray a friend as easily as Sasuke did with him. (Sasu x Naru)
1. Prologue & Disclaimers

Title:                 If it paid to be honest I wouldn't be here

Author:             Shayla

Series:             Naruto

Rated:              R for later scenes

Warning:           Slash, Romance/Angst, 1st Naruto fic(so be nice, if you review, please)

Started:            Nov. 2003 – Written: 02.02.2004

Pairing:             Sasu x Naru…at least that's my goal… some Kyuubi x Naru… maybe some one sided Gaara x Naru….

Summary:         Sasuke is unaware of the price Naruto paid to get him back from Orochimaru. Now the blond has to learn to control his Inner demon, a past he had already forgotten and decide whether he can betray a friend as easily as Sasuke did with him. (Sasu x Naru)

Disclaimer:        Mine! MINE! MINE!!! MUAHAHAHA!! …¬¬ Now, don't be stupid. Did you really believe that? Gee… If Kishimoto-sensei's works were mine we would get a lot more Naru x Sasu to see. I can only claim the plot of this fanfic as mine.

Thanks to:        Halig, who worked on Chapter 05 as beta. Wonderful work!!

Dedicated to:    GRACE!!! As a birthday present and thanks for introducing me to the Naruto-World

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**Prologue**

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Have you ever thought about how many idiots and morons surround you? Or have you ever even considered wondering whether you are the only normal one and the rest of the world's population suffers from a disease that killed their brain cells? Well to tell you the truth I hadn't until very recently. And to be honest, I don't think I would have even bothered to let the mere chance of having those around me seem dumber than me. I mean, I can't picture me gazing from some superior spot of intellectual level down at them. I already have that privilege in other areas, not that anyone cares to admit.

But let me get back to the point.

You see for the last years I have been ignored, called names, kicked, and pretty much threatened to be rid off by the village people, if I don't get away from them. That of course is something that you would never have those in higher power admit. I mean, what would it look like in the eyes of the other villages, if they treated the only living memory of a great man that saved their sorry asses, like he was a piece of raw meat thrown into a pit of hungry wolves?

Would make quite the grand impression and certainly would shatter the image of strength and unity in their enemies eyes, don't you agree? Then again maybe if I twisted it enough it wouldn't seem just as negative as I probably am making it sound.

Let's put it this way: They are all in against one of the most feared monsters, all together trying to keep it trapped in their mist. Never allowing others to grow with that power and making them stronger, and also, never allow something that you cannot comprehend know that maybe, just maybe it might have the strength to shut them all up…

Hey, I think I'm making it sound positive for me again…

Well, what does it matter? I have, long ago, given up on trying to find reasoning for their enmity. It does not really affect me much any longer, but I would be lying to myself, if I said it does not hurt inside whenever they glance at me with their cold eyes of hatred. I'm not sure whether you can comprehend what I am trying to explain to you, because you surely have always been loved by at least one person. There surely was someone holding his hand out for you to reach if you fell and pulled you back on your feet.

I didn't.

Not until recently. And that, my friend, is the purpose of my story. To allow you a glimpse into the secrets I hide, the fears I behold and the love I long for. Turn away now if you don't want to see what lies beyond the mask of reality. Run, if you cannot face the truth. But most of all I ask of you to heed my warning and recall always that a Ninja must always see beyond what lies before him, he must uncover the darkness beneath and he must have the strength to withstand what he finds. So think twice before allowing yourself to continue listening to my story.

Are you sure?

Have you considered your options and waged out the mistake you might be making?

Have you now…

Well, then listen carefully… Listen to my voice as I tell you my story… About the life of Naruto Uzumaki…

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**TBC in Chapter 01**

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	2. Chapter 01

**A/N:**

Well, I'm not a native English speaker, but thanks to Greg's betaing there are less mistakes than usual.

Enjoy

**Disclaimer:** Naruto-tachi is still not mine

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**Chapter One**

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The growl of victory that emitted the boy made his surroundings tremble. A wave of power and rage washed for miles through the land making the creatures of nature run in alarm. A Guardian Spirit was at war and it was more than unpleased. Above the top of the trees the birds flew scared away in great crowds sensing that the spirit freed was out for revenge, for blood to be repaid for his suffering. And as the terrible sound ceased, the intoxicating smell of prey having been slaughtered spread with the wind in all directions, a warning of what was to come if no one eased the pain of the spirit at turmoil.

The boy crouched down on his hands like a wounded animal. His face and fangs were smeared with blood that was not his own and so was the rest of his skin. His hair was flaring in red with the energy that held him safe and was healing wounds here and there on his body. Rags of his pants barely held their place on his hips and his shirt had long ago been forgotten somewhere else on the battlefield. His slit pupil eyes scanned the area again trying to recall why it was that he was here. Somewhere inside his body he sensed that there was importance in this victory, but reasoning was something that was hard to do, considering that his thoughts were not his alone. And so the boy smelled the air searching for answers for his questions. He moved over the dead bodies of his enemies or at least what little he had left intact after loosing himself completely in power. It was intriguing how much you were able to tell just by smell, humans lacked this surviving ability, which is why they were inferior to him in so many annoying ways.

Humans…

His head snapped up as another voice inside his head shouted a name.

_Sasuke!!!_

Clearing his mind by shaking his head before continuing his exploration, he sensed the other him pulling weakly at him to let him out again. And he knew that the other was of importance too. So he retreated into himself, running along passages until he found the child crying out the name over and over again as he tried to pull out from under the bars of a huge cage that must have come loose.

Approaching carefully, he glanced at the blond boy in front of him and was surprised as a pair of eyes like his own starred back at him. Red eyes filled with tears.

_Sasuke!!_

Again the voice shrilled alarmed out, almost desperately. And this time, he approached without hesitation, nudging with his nose carefully the other's crying face as to assure something to the other. But he was not sure what. The boy pushed him away struggling still under the weight of the bars and with striking realization he remembered what had happened and why he was free. And as he started to understand, it became clear to him that, should he wished the child no harm, than he had to return behind the bars where he was trapped, but the other safe. And once again not comprehending completely his action he moved into the dark cage sensing the bars lifting almost magically behind him repairing themselves and closing him off the world once more.

And as he turned around this time, blue and innocent filled eyes starred up at him confused. And as he reached out with one of his tails the child did not retreat alarmed as he had done in the past. He let himself be pulled closer to the cage were he sank into farther unconsciousness. He was trusted; the child trusted a being like him.

Why?

There was no answer to his question. Only the warmth of the small body so close assured him that this was real and that maybe neither of them was truly alone.

Revive a soul…

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"Wake up… Com'on… Wake up!"

A face swung back and forth like a pendulum above him. It changed into blurs spinning madly like wheels. He closed his eyes again and felt cold sweat on his face. Sudden panic struck down his mind and he struggled to sit up, but even then, inside his head, in the dark, the world did not cease to spin around. There was something important he needed to find out, something that was below the surface of his memory but already leaving his grip. He couldn't remember what it was, but he needed to know so badly. His head buzzed with sounds when a pair of arms reached out to hold him and a voice broke through the mist of sounds and darkness.

"Naruto, just for a moment wake up…"

The voice it was familiar. He had heard it before. A fight… Gaara? Yes, he knew for sure that it was the other boy speaking to him. The darkness whirled him further back and somehow he was glad for the support that did not allow him to fall. He struggled again to open his eyes and remain conscious. Hearing himself groaning in pain, he tried to find focus but to no success. Somehow he couldn't remember ever being sick.

"Naruto, you need to drink this." Gaara spoke and another firm arm came around his other side helping him sit up. Something cold was pressed against his lips and out of reflex he swallowed the liquid. Panic came flooding again. He shouldn't trust.

Then voices passed through his mind as memory flashed by and he was unable to grasp it.

_Sasuke!!_

"Mission…" his throat hurt. "Sasuke…"

Gaara glanced down at the pale face of the blond boy as he laid him back. What was Naruto talking about? He turned his eyes at the nurse on the other side of the bed waiting for her to answer his unspoken question, but then Naruto suddenly sat straight up, his eyes flashing red for a moment as they starred wide and scared. "Sasuke! I have to get Sasuke back!! I promised!!" He looked at Gaara without recognition. "I have to get Sasuke back!!" His face turned painfully away as he dropped back and tears rolled down his face.

Gaara leaned over him curiously yet unsure what to do. So again he looked at the distressed nurse. "He will be alright, won't he?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. Physically the worst is yet to come and at the moment he appears to be trapped in either hallucinations or maybe his own memory. I can't tell for sure. It might even go so far that he looses part of himself. His body was seriously taken over his limit and it is still a miracle he hadn't died by the time you brought him here…" She sighed deeply and tugged the covers back up to Naruto's chin. "All we can do now is wait and hope that he can break through the fever. He has to sleep now, but his body will still be limp for a very long time and it would be wise for someone to stay by his side. He's going to be a very, very sick boy for a while."

Gaara sighed reaching out to stroke Naruto's damp forehead. "I'll stay."

The nurse nodded, taking the blond boy's wrist between finger and thumb checking his pulse. "Very important now is that you wake him up now and then and make him drink water or he will dehydrate." She let go of Naruto and got back to her feet. "I have to go now, Gaara-sama, but I'll be back tonight to see how he fares."

Gaara did not move as she left. His eyes were fixed on the boy. He wondered what could have driven Naruto to take his body so far as that his muscles had been strained to the limit and that even some had ripped. The amount of Chakra that he must have used for his body to weaken in this manner, that he was not healing on his own, must have been immensely Gaara had thought him dead when he had found him between the dead bodies near the Sound Village. What had happened after Orochimaru had attacked the Leaf Village? More importantly, what had Uchiha to do with this?

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The elders sat around in a circle as Gaara approached and settled down.

"How long do you plan for the boy to remain here Gaara-sama?" A woman spoke from underneath her ANBU mask.

Red eyes fixed on her. "Until he recovers." He answered plainly.

"He's a Leaf Ninja. Our law forbids someone that is not ANBU or a member of the Kage families to stay here." Another woman spoke. "And according to our information he's not even a Chunnin."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "He's under my protection! I won't have anyone making him leave until he walks out on his own two legs."

"There is also another matter." The eldest member of their group raised his voice and let his eyes wander over the various ANBU and head family members of this village. As leader there were responsibilities that even Gaara had to learn to obey. "If we get ourselves involved now with the Leaf Villages' problems it might arise suspicion in the other villages." He could tell that Gaara was not pleased. "We, the Shadow Village, have been on neutral ground with the other villages for over 300 hundred years. Our village was formed by families of all the other villages that did not want to participate in their constant wars of superiority. Our ancestors made the contract between us and the other villages very clear. We will help them in equal shares, but we will not have them in contact with our own world if it can be avoided. And by keeping the boy here we would only bring the others to the conclusion that we are siding with the Leafs." He fixed Gaara with his old eyes. "Gaara-sama, you are the current Kazekage's only heir, but we cannot allow you to let the boy remain here. Showing favoritism will not gain us anything but suspicion and hatred by the other villages."

The other members of the group joined the motion of their leader and Gaara realized that he was indeed cornered by the people that had taken him in after he had left his own village with Temari and Kankuro. But he could not risk moving Naruto either. The medic had made it clear that the boy he wanted as a friend would not survive if there were any kind of pressure put on him. He gritted his teeth angrily.

"It is decided then." The elder spoke. "Gaara-sama, you have to take the boy by the end of week somewhere else. If you wish to bring him back to his own village, we will give you a team to accompany you there."

"Wait!" one of the ANBU present lowered his mask. "According to our law anyone that is not from this village or heir of a Kage may not stay here."

"What are you getting at?" A woman asked annoyed. "We have already discu-"

"The boy is related to a Hokage."

They starred at him, even Gaara was surprised by this.

"He's the only living relative of the late Yondaime. And not only that, he's also the only remaining survivor of the Uzumaki Clan." The man grinned at Gaara. "Meaning that he's not only heir of a Kage, but also a member of this village." His eyes turned amused. "And you're not telling me, you wish death upon one of our own, are you now?"

Gaara gapped, something he had never done before he had met Naruto. "Are you sure of what sure saying?"

The man nodded. "I can prove it."

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Naruto felt warm. It was comfortable. Although he wasn't really sure where he was. He snuggled closer into the furry covers that held him protective before falling once again into darkness.

Red eyes watched him confused. The Fox Demon wasn't entirely happy with his current situation. He needed to make his host wake up so that he could help heal their body. As long as Naruto sank further into his own subconscious and oblivion, the more difficult it became for the Kyuubi to reach him and keep him alive. If the boy died, so would he, their souls were bound and the seal assured that he stayed here behind these bars. The only comfort and assurance he could offer at the moment was this, although he wasn't really pleased with the whole idea of him, a demon, a Spirit of the Wild Nature, having to play babysitter for a mortal boy. Then again, he hadn't done much else ever since the Yondaime had captured him into his own flesh and blood. Of course, if anyone were to bother and ask Kyuubi why he had currently Naruto curled up on one of his tails and was keeping him warm with another, he would say it was all for the goal of survival and self-preserve. After all, he wasn't allowed to show weakness.

His ears twitched slightly at the sound of footsteps approaching Naruto's body. He recognized them as the other demon boy's. Through the sickness that dwelled between his cage and the outside world, he heard Gaara speak slowly to him. He raised an eyebrow curiously. It was strange to have someone speak to him, the Demon Fox. He couldn't remember when anyone had bothered to speak calmly with no malice to him. It was too many years ago and it involved memories he wasn't very keen on letting arise back to hurt him. Yet the voice was too far away to make out. He could only hear the rise and fall of the sound but not comprehend most words. Sure was only one thing, by the way the Sand Demon's host spoke it appeared to be important.

His red eyes wandered back to the boy curled against the bars on his tails. He nudged his nose against the boy, but he could only smell and sense the pain in his body and mind. He would not wake. Unsure of his action he closed his eyes and pushed against the bars, carefully, unclear if they would allow him escape once again. And to his surprise they let themselves be bend, not broken, but bend enough for his head to fit through. That was enough. He didn't mean to damage Naruto's body more than he had already. With his outraged strength he had almost killed them both. He would not let that happen again. Not as long as hadn't had his revenge.

Focusing his Chakra into his voice and ears he let a trying growl out.

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An inhuman growl escaped Naruto's throat making Gaara stop in mid-sentence.

"Saaannd…" a deep voice made its way out between Naruto's feverish lips, but it was not the boy's. "Boooyy…sspeak… again…"

It took a moment for Gaara to react.

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TBC in Chapter 02 

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	3. Chapter 02

**A/N:**

Well, I'm not a native English speaker, I have an unconscious dislike towards comas but thanks to Greg, who betad, there are less mistakes, still if they remain they are entirely my fault. So please bear with me.

**Disclaimer:** You'll once Naruto is mine, because then you'd get uncountable Naru x Sasu scenes. Sigh A goal that I might achieve in some parallel universe. It still belongs to Kishimoto-sensei

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**Chapter Two**

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He cracked an eye open, then close again. He groaned annoyed in pain at the brightness that had blinded him.

"Well, it seems you're back under the living, Sasuke."

He tried to open his eyes again to see who was speaking to him. First he saw only a blur but slowly his eye found focus and he recognized the face of the Hokage.

"Tsunade-sama…" he croaked and tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down.

"No moving around yet, boy. It was already a pain to seal your little mark on your neck and take care of the rest of your injuries." She said firm.

He did not say anything. Instead he let his eyes wander over the large infirmary room. On the bedside table were flowers. He narrowed his eyes confused.

"Sakura." Tsunade answered his unspoken question.

"Aa…" He turned back to look at her sitting by his bed. She was looking at him much too formal; she was going to punish him for sure for leaving the village without permission.

There was a knock on the door and the Hokage called, for whoever it was, to proceed in. Sasuke watched Kakashi come in followed by a white haired man with marks on his face. He could vaguely recall having seen him before.

"Kakashi… Jiraiya…" Tsunade was about to get up but the white haired man shook his head. She slumped back, almost in defeat. "Still nothing…"

"We'll find him, don't worry, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said seriously, before turning to look a little surprised at Sasuke gazing at them from underneath half-opened eyes. "Ay, well, Sasuke, you took quite a beating. Good to see you alive again."

He could practically hear the smile in the voice. The dark haired boy turned his head away uninterested only wanting to rest again, but he was sure that he would have to remain awake until Tsunade would tell him of his punishment.

"Have you asked him?" Jiraiya asked.

"He's just regained consciousness." Tsunade explained. "Sasuke..."

He turned tiredly his eyes to her.

"What happened to Naruto?"

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He stood at the entrance to Leaf Village. He was not pleased with the idea of being back here; last time he had caused quite a havoc. People tend to be unforgiving; he knew that better than most. Even if almost three month had passed since then

"Are we going to stay here all day? I have to be back with Naruto in at least two days." His hooded companion said as he checked onto his badge on his arm that marked him as a Shadow Village member and the mask on his face as an ANBU.

Gaara did not reply but proceeded and the other followed quietly for a while.

"Do we really have to report?" His companion asked interrupting the silence between them. Gaara sighed; this just proved how much influence Naruto had on the Kyuubi for him to be acting like this.

"What are you worried about? You've been here before. Living here…" He glanced at him. "You're starting to sound like Naruto when I told him I was going to come."

"Listen, Gaara, I'm only here to check with my own eyes that Uchiha survived. Otherwise, I would have never, you here me, never agreed to put Naruto's health back in danger by making him perform a much more complex form of the Kage no Bunshin." The hooded one stopped. "I'm not worried of what I'll see, but of what might no longer be here." He proceeded on and Gaara sighed again.

"I just don't get you…either of you…" he murmured. "Hey, Kitsune, wait!" he ran after the other.

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"What happened to Naruto?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes confused. "What do you mean?" his throat hurt and out of reflex he reached up with a bandaged hand to his neck.

Kakashi moved closer and reached for a glass of water that had been standing on Sasuke's blind spot on the table. He helped the boy sit up and drink. Tsunade waited for him to relax somewhat back before speaking up again.

"When you where found, you were covered by Naruto's shirt, but we were unable to find any sign of him." She explained. "We need to know what little information you can give us."

"I…" He closed his eyes as he felt a headache starting between his eyes. "I remember fighting Naruto… " Images of himself totally out of control attacking the only person he could call a friend surfaced. Red eyes glaring in confusion and irritation as well as betrayal… "No… that wasn't Naruto…" he shook his head remembering being pinned to the ground and feeling teeth sink into his flesh as he realized that whoever looked like Naruto had him under complete control. He had lost.

He opened his eyes and passed a hand over his face.

_"Unworthy of our trust and faith you are…" the monster above him growled before sinking his fangs into him and performing a justsu that would hold him immobile for a while._

_Suddenly others attacked them both from all sides and Sasuke watched horrified as the Naruto look alike moved with such speed that he could not follow even with his Sharingan. In a matter of seconds four men lay with exposed organs screaming, shrieking and trashing on the ground next to him. _

_"KILL HIM!! We need the Uchiha boy!!" _

_At those words the monster moved protectively back to him and stood like a fighting wolf mother over his cub. Chakra flowed dangerously around them before leashing out and sending a wave that cut even the trees nearby. Horrified Sasuke understood that he would never have a chance to win against this creature. He was at this stranger's mercy._

_A growl erupted from the one above him and that was the last he knew before passing out._

Jiraiya turned to Tsunade who reached unconsciously to something on her neck but that wasn't there. "You don't think that-"

Tsunade swung her head up glaring at him. "Don't even speak of it!" she hissed dangerously at him. "I won't hear it! The boy and I have a promise and I know he's still out there! You will find him and bring him back!"

Both man nodded and left wishing him well. Sasuke watched the Hokage get up from her seat and walk to the window.

"How long?"

She turned to him, but the light did not allow him to read the expression on her face. "How long you've been out?"

He nodded.

"You've been in a coma for a little more than a month."

His eyes widened in disbelieve.

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Gaara pushed his ANBU mask better in place on his face while the Jounin at the entrance checked his and the Kyuubi's papers. He handed them back to them and told them how to reach the Hokage. Gaara nodded and made quietly his way sensing his companion's rising annoyance the closer they got to their destination.

"You can always return." Gaara suggested. "After all, it was my duty in the first place to notify the Leaf that Naruto is still alive."

A snort answered him. "Like I have a choice. I can feel my Chibi's uneasiness even this far apart. I need to know what happened to Uchiha." A growl escaped him. "It doesn't feel right to be away from my Little One. It makes me want to do something… unpredictable."

Even though the other had not spoken it out loud he could tell that his companion wanted to rip something apart. Gaara could understand him. He felt like that often enough, even if unlike Naruto, he was not so well bonded with his inner Demon. The sensation of freedom that both the Kyuubi and his inner self sought and longed for was so madly that it wondered Gaara how Naruto could maintain his good-natured character, even it was clear to him that it was nothing more than a protective charade the blond hid behind for many years by now.

While Gaara's other self wanted to be left alone and roam and defend his domain, wanting to taste blood, at the same time not considering the damage he could inflict upon his host, Kyuubi was more submissive. Or at least that was the impression he got from the little time they had spend together on this journey. Then again, that might be an act on itself. Kyuubi was possessive and over protective of 'His Little One', as he liked to call Naruto. The fact that during his last released he had almost killed the boy was imprinted in his soul and the guilt was visible the way he nudged the other while they were in different bodies. He had not even wanted to let the blond perform this Jutsu in the first place. But since Naruto's health did not allow him for the time being to leave his bed, and since the boy was going crazy with the uncertainty of what had happened to Uchiha and the village and his friend, Kyuubi had agreed to go instead of him in the end.

Gaara glanced at the hooded figure walking next to him. The movements were not humans, he could tell. The hunched way he walked and his hands were held as though he wanted to walk on all four, the way he turned sometimes alarmed like a scared animal indicated to Gaara that no matter how much Kyuubi's body resembled Naruto's, that they were not the same.

'Tsune', as Naruto referred to the Kyuubi after he had regained consciousness and had gotten over the worst of his fever, had the same Chakra as his host, since it was Naruto who provided both their strength as long as he bore the seal. Then again, the seal was nothing but an empty cage now, a hollow thing whose only purpose was to keep Naruto's and the Kyuubi's soul connected. Gaara was sure there was something else to it that neither of them was telling him, one couldn't simply break a seal like that nor outwit it, for that the seal was far to complex. And then there was also the matter with Naruto's eyes. It was unnatural for the blond to have one red eye now and one blue while Kyuubi possessed the coloring the other way around. Intriguing as he had found it at first, it had become not only to him unnerving to see such different colors starring at him from one face. So in the end he had suggested irritated for Naruto to use a Jutsu to make his eyes at least have the same color while he was in the presence of others. The other had complied without much arguing.

Kyuubi pushed his hood back suddenly and Gaara stopped in his track alarmed at the sight of red hair falling irregularly over the ANBU mask.

"I'm gonna eat some ramen. We'll meet later." And without another word Kyuubi had jumped up the wall and from roof to roof out of Gaara's sight.

Gaara growled annoyed as he realized that he would have to face the Hokage's questioning alone. "I hate my life…"

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Truth behind the truth… heated, boiling red fury underneath the shallow blue waters…Lies that hold things together and give form to a new and dark being… uncontrollable emotions that festered inside a tainted soul that remembered far too well its sacrifices and could now rejoin them with his actual memories…

His hand reached up to his chest as he panted in pain. It struck him like nerves on fire as his Chakra kept on fleeing his grasp and pumping another shell that held a soul that belonged to him. It was so far away… that being he needed close. He felt dampness on his face as cold feverish sweat covered his body and someone covered him with a warm blanket.

Awakening to realize that he was dying slowly, that his dreams had suddenly vanished from sight had thrown him back into a maddening reality that he was unwanted in this world. Things he yearned to leave behind, because he had learned to ignore, were catching up. Gaara might have been right…

Foolish it was to weaken himself further by using the seal's real purpose and splitting his body's energy by creating a new shell for Tsune. But the uncertainty of not knowing what had happened, after losing consciousness for weeks, was beyond comprehension for anyone but himself.

He gasped heavily for air as his heart's muscles forced themselves to continue working. He wanted to disappear and yet he needed to live.

The variety of colors he saw in the dark was nothing compared to the emotions that dwelled within his soul. Hatred… Love… Need…Angst…Rejection… A scum in the eyes of many… a hero in the beholders of the past... and so much more…

"Naruto-sama?"

He tried to open an eye but he was too exhausted trying to remain conscious. He could hear the faint echo of the medics voice in his head. _"His heart will not recover from this one… It will fail him if he keeps pushing himself like this…"_ That was one truth… Back in his older life he had kept his heart problems a secret and hoped to outrun them, but now they were back with full impact upon him. There was no outrunning this time.

He was alone in this…

No one would care this time…

The hate in their eyes, he could remember, was too great for them to care… to love him…

Ungratefulness was something he had long ago learned to ignore as well. He could remember those children he had taught… Taught before he had dared to give his life in exchange for so many others… They despised him now… Anger… They couldn't know it was him… Only two others beside him knew… and one, the old man, was dead…

Blood… Red and lively… warm and strong pulsing through the system of his body pumping oxygen into every cell keeping him under the living…It hurt…

Black… he wanted to sink into the darkness for so long… Memories were something impossible to evade… For more than ten years he had succeeded but now they were back…

He couldn't let them know…

Sasuke wouldn't understand…

He wouldn't understand…

So scared…

"Sasuke…"

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Sakura sat next to Sasuke and Kakashi at the Hokage's office. Jiraiya had returned and they would get to hear the news of what he had found out about Naruto. She watched the boy next to her hold his fist tight to his side and she felt the urge to reach out and tell him that everything would be all right.  But what if that was a lie? Sasuke had had enough difficulties in the last weeks; he had been unable to interact with others that had been assigned to fill up Naruto's place in their team. It had come so far that he had almost released Tsunade's seal on his shoulder out of cold desperation to handle the situation.

Guilt was plaguing him, that much was evident, but also something else. A secret that bore in him whenever anyone mentioned the other boy's name, and it was eating him from the inside. Nightmares plagued him whenever they had missions. Over the last weeks, after he had been released from the hospital, she had witnessed his inability to reintegrate. And if that wasn't prove enough, then the dark circles under his eyes held enough truth about Sasuke's current state of mind.

The door opened and Iruka came in settling down next to Kakashi. Tsunade nodded in greeting and told Jiraiya to tell them what he had found out.

Listening to the old man's words Sakura found herself drifting onto other thoughts. She could tell anyway that by the look of his eyes that he had once again come back empty handed. Maybe they should all give up. It was better to forget the annoying and overly happy boy.

Uneasiness rose in her. Lying to oneself was not good either. She missed him as well, and somehow she found herself responsible for his disappearance. She had made him promise that he would bring Sasuke back to her. And he had somehow succeeded in what other Jounins had failed. But at what price she wasn't sure. Maybe deep down inside she didn't even want to know because she was scared to find an answer that had been dwelling in her mind for the month she had sat by Sasuke's unmoving body.

She was not ready to handle death being her fault.

The even melody of the voices around her ceased and she refocused back on the conversation. But there was none. Only pressing silence as Sasuke's body trembled next to her in either fury or fear. She couldn't tell.

Suddenly a shadow emerged from the balcony landing quietly on his feet and was immediately cornered by various ANBU. Everyone's attention turned to the arriving ANBU as kunai where held up to his neck from all sides. The hooded stranger lifted slowly his closed hand, indicating that he meant no harm. Sakura felt a familiar presence watching her as the newcomer started to raise his fingers one by one. Something bright caught her eyes as it fell from the hand and dangled back and forth in the air.

"My pendant…" Tsunade whispered lifting her eyes to look at the stranger with hope. "Naruto!"

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**TBC in Chapter 03**

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	4. Chapter 03

**A/N:**

Ow man, I can't believe I found the time to write this chapter. I'm so full of work! And I should rather be working on my other fanfics instead of this one. On another thought I was stunned with the amount of reviews I got with just chapter 00-02. I didn't think people would find this interesting. yeah, low self-esteem here So, thank you everybody very much!! I felt really happy about them.

Before I forget, I want to say to Lady Dragon: I don't think Naruto has any kind of illness in the series or in the manga up until chapter 205 that I remember ever being mentioned. I came up with the heart problem for this fic because I thought it would be an interesting factor and also to make Naruto's character somewhat more human and vulnerable.

Thanks to Greg for betaing!!

Oh well, I hope you like it

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**Chapter Three**

------------------------------

He opened the door of the apartment slowly and coughed as a cloud of dust greeted him. Closing the door behind him he lowered his ANBU mask and laid it on the table near the entrance. He let his eyes wander over the small apartment. He could see traces of someone having cleaned up. His Chibi was not this clean. He reached up to unbutton the cloak he wore as he walked into his Chibi's room and found there the same cleanness as in the earlier room.

Whoever had bothered to make this apartment living again had not come for quiet some while, he decided as he let his hand wander over the dusty surface of the bedside table. He let himself fall on the bed after throwing his cloak to the ground. He was exhausted and he hadn't want Gaara to know. That had something to do with the fact that it wouldn't be a good thing to show weakness in front of the sand demon and of course with the little word know as pride.

An itching sensation spreading in his chest, which probably meant his host wasn't feeling well. But from this distance it was hard to tell for him. He covered his eyes with his arm trying to calm his heartbeat, but after a while he realized it was useless. The pain wasn't originating from him. Taking a deep breath he pushed himself up to a sitting position wondering where to start looking for the Uchiha boy. Maybe if he was all right he had been send off on a mission and he would never get a chance to see him before heading back to Shadow Village. It would certainly make things easier for him, since he wouldn't have to bother with wandering around searching for signs and risk getting exposed. It wouldn't do well, if people who knew his host realized that the energy his body emitted was the Chibi's. But returning without news was not an option either, for that the Chibi's mental state was not stable enough.

He wasn't sure what went on in Naruto's head anymore. Before he had simply watched the events from within his host's body, but ever since the incident in which the Chibi had unconsciously released him, he had been unable to follow the process of thoughts of the other. Somehow he knew that had something to do with the seal weakening, but on the other hand he wasn't completely sure about that either. The only one who understood completely the complexity of the seal had been the Yondaime and that man was pretty much dead.

Memory of the 4th Hokage standing before him moving his hands rapidly and speaking the words that would seal him flashed through his mind. Emotions he didn't want to recall resurface for a moment and he had to control himself as not to loose to the anger as he had done so many years ago.

Tainted had become his soul. As a Guardian Spirit of Nature it was not permitted to him to let himself be overthrown by his own emotions and yet he had done so. The punishment had been hard. Not only physically, but also emotionally. He had lost the closest thing to a friend he had ever had and he could recall vividly the betrayal in his eyes reflected in the Yondaime's own.

Sighing he pushed his legs over the edge of the bed before standing up and moving over to the bathroom. He turned the cold water-tap on. The cold liquid moved between his fingers into the washbasin for a while before he leaned forward and splashed some of it on his face. His muscles tensed at the contact with the cold. It was refreshing, different from what he recalled it felt in his old body, but not bad. He held with his hand onto the washbasin as he glanced up to look at his face in the mirror. A pair of blue eyes starred back at him. Eyes that were nothing more than an illusion to fool people, since his own eyes scared them with their unnatural form. He reached with a hand up tracing the black lines of the tattoos that covered his whiskers. From the side of his eyes they ran down in two mirrored lightning shapes, hiding the marks that would identify him immediately as part of the Chibi. He touched, as so often during this journey, the uncharacteristic hair on his head. He was unused to seeing it red, having lived for the last decade seeing it blond. Moving his hand over his eyes he lifted the Jutsu of their coloring and was greeted by the sight of one red and one deep blue. He couldn't understand why it was so, but assumed that it also had to do with the seal. It was so much easier to blame it all on the circular sign on the Chibi's body, so much easier to accept it that way, than to admit that he was being absorb by the boy. Calmer to accept the fact that he didn't know for how much longer he would retain his own mind, before he would be swallowed by his host leaving only an amount of energy that should not be handled by a mortal. No… not shouldn't, couldn't be handled by a boy that age. The damage it had done to Naruto's body was prove enough. He had not been able to heal everything completely.

He let his hand wander down his chest. In there pumped the truth… The Chibi was dying…they were both dying… and unstoppable destiny… a fate he had never thought would happen to him, after all he was a Wild Spirit… An immortal being trapped in dying flesh…

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Weapons were lowered at command of the Hokage and the Leaf ANBUs stepped away from the intruder. Sakura started to get up wanting to ask some question, but Kakashi held her back in her seat and noticed her to remain in silence for now. Sometimes it was better to listen than to act. What she did not see, in her worry for her missing friend, when she turned to look back at the stranger, was her sensei's other hand tightening painfully on Sasuke's other shoulder. Her dark haired teammate was equally held back in place.

Tsunade moved quickly closer to the stranger, nonetheless she was cautious in her movements. "Where did you get that?" she tried to take a closer look at the sign of his mask but the hood covered it.

"He's alive." Answered the stranger raising his hands pushing the fabric of his cloak from his head and giving sight to the Shadow Village's sign on his mask. "The boy has been with us." His head moved as though he was looking at the others in the room. Tsunade was about to send everyone away to speak in private with the young man before her, but he spoke up before she got the chance. "Good… everyone I was to speak to is here. This makes things much easier of course." He leaned his head questioning to one side and the Hokage motioned with her hand for him to enter.

A chair was brought for the young man to sit, but he remained in fair distance from them. He only moved to Tsunade's desk laying the pendant on the wooden surface before retreating to his previous spot.

"Where is Naruto?" Tsunade asked as she reached for what had once been hers. She closed her hand around the light piece of jewelry. "Why are you bringing us this?"

"The child has been very ill for the last month. When he was found it was thought that he was surely dead. It was a surprise to everyone to see him still breathing… to see him recover somewhat from the injuries he suffered." He paused turning his head to look at Sasuke and Sakura. "He is still not well, which is why the Elders decided to inform you that he remains under the living before more time passes." He turned his eyes back to the Hokage. "The child said to show the Hokage this and I was to give you a message from him. I am sorry if I sound blunt but I quote him: 'I keep my promises old hag.'"

A smile lightened the woman's face and it was visible that a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She seemed to relax as she settled down and leaned back in her seat.

From underneath his mask Gaara watched their reaction to his words, especially interested in Uchiha's. But he couldn't' tell whether Uchiha was relieved or not about the news. Although by the look of the copy ninja's white knuckles, he was heaving a hard time keeping the other in his chair. Whichever the case, he knew at least now that he was alive and could inform the Nine-Tails of this. Although knowing Naruto's stubborn character and how close Kyuubi and he were, it was very highly probable that the other would want to confirm this on his own.

Bowing slightly with his head, indicating that he was to leave, Gaara made his way back to the balcony.

"Wait!"

Gaara turned surprised to hear Uchiha calling him back.

"Where is he?!" the dark haired boy asked with a hint of concern showing in his eyes, causing Gaara to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. He could tell that the question the boy had spoken was also one that flickered in the eyes of the others in the room. The intensity of being watched from all sides like this made Gaara feel uneasy, almost trapped. He had done his part in telling them about Naruto. That was all there was to this.

But why not tell and see Uchiha's reaction? Why not take pleasure in his worry? Why not? After all, it wasn't like the boy would be allowed to come after him. The laws between the villages stated very clearly that only the Hokage and ANBU members were allowed into Shadow Village.

"He can not leave bed for another month if he wishes to regain his earlier strength." Gaara finally replied calmly. "He's still at our village being tended by our medics."

A thought came back to Tsunade about what little Sasuke had told them after he had awoken. And also there was worry as to why it was taking so long for Naruto to recover if the Nine-Tails usually accelerated all healing processes of the boy's body. "I'm a medic myself, I would like to see him and examine him." She declared as a matter of fact.

Gaara nodded in understanding. "I was told you would say this." He reached with his hand into his cloak and brought to sight a scroll and handed it to her.

Jiraiya moved behind Tsunade as she unfolded it and read the context. Gaara saw her hand starting to tremble in silent shock as she glanced back up to meet Jiraiya's unbelievable eyes. Her eyes turned back to him in disbelieve. "Is this true?"

"As I said, he was found near death. The fact that he survived is a miracle to us." He let his voice hint onto the fact that there was something else to thank for the blond's survival, since he had to pretend that he had no idea about Kyuubi. "But if you still wish to see him, I would be more than honored to have you accompany me on my way home." This time he nodded in goodbye and left swiftly before they could call him back once again.

He scowled underneath his mask. He should have kept quiet in the first place. Bad habits do rub off.

------------------------------

Gaara met Kyuubi at the Ramen shop. The place one would usually find Naruto. The red haired had his mask pushed on his head and was slurping his bowl empty. Another prove of how close Naruto and the Nine-Tails really were.

"You eat like an animal." He commented as he settled next to him.

Blue eyes turned to him. The Kyuubi seemed exhausted somehow and Gaara felt something stir within him at the realization, but pushed it further back into the darkness. This was not the time or place to loose control. Not after he had spent months after his battle with the blond trying to learn to control his inner demon.

The sand boy watched his companion for a while before speaking up again. "Uchiha is alive."

Kyuubi paused his sucking on the noodles for a second before letting them disappear in his mouth rather noisily.  "Where?"

Gaara had known that question would come. "At the Hokage." He paused again trying to read the other's expression and determine whether what he saw was the Demon's or Naruto's feelings. "He wasn't alone. There was that pink haired girl, a man with a covered eye and a man with a scar on his face." He moved his finger over his mask showing the position of the scar to the other. "And an old man who smelled awfully of sake."

"That would be the perverted old man…" Kyuubi answered calmly putting his chopsticks on his bowl. "And?" he could tell Gaara wanted to say more.

"Uchiha appeared to be worried." He stated.

Wide blue eyes starred at him. "Worried? About the Chibi?"

Was the Demon or Naruto surprised by this revelation? "Maybe… I can't say for sure though."

Kyuubi narrowed his eyes annoyed. "Just spill it already."

Gaara rolled his eyes knowing what would happen once he spoke. "Some of them might be coming back with us."

A blue eye flared angrily red for an instant. "You're kidding me!"

No reply was given, after all Gaara had already anticipated Kyuubi's reaction.

"I can't believe this!! They will know it's me!" he started to get up angrily.

Gaara pushed the other back down. "Well then we just have to make sure they don't."

A growl escaped the blue-eyed boy. "As if one Uchiha wasn't already enough!"

Gaara blinked. "What?"

"What what?"

Hadn't Kyuubi realized what he had just said? "You just said that-"

A puff of smoke appearing next to them interrupted their conversation and Kyuubi moved out of reflex his mask back in place to hide his face before standing in a defense position next to Gaara.

"The Hokage wishes to see you." Hatake Kakashi let his eye move over Kyuubi curiously. "Your companion?"

Gaara nodded in silence.

------------------------------

"To die for my sins…" Naruto whispered as he looked out of the window lost in thoughts.

He felt somewhat better than half an hour ago. He had somehow managed to rise from the constant nightmares. Yet he could still taste the Uchiha blood in his mouth, although he knew that it was nothing more than a faint echo of something he had done. But knowledge didn't make him feel better, it didn't ease the conscience, it only forced him to recall how stained his hands had looked, how surreal killing at seemed. It stung… Killing without a good reason… Impetuousness… Uneasiness…

Things that were wrong, yet retrospection the events, it seemed right as well.

He sighed heavily trying to clear his mind.

Temari had come by earlier and had helped him sit up in his bed arranging his pillows and making sure he eat something. He didn't want her to bother with him, it already had been annoying to have Gaara nurse him, but the red haired boy had asked her to take care of him while he was gone, so he had not choice but to live with it for now. Although to Naruto it had seemed more an order than a request.

After tending to him, Temari had left sensing that he was rather alone than in anyone's company. She probably thought him to be much like Gaara in that matter. Although she had once said that unlike the red haired he was more social. For a moment Naruto had wondered whether she truly believed what she had said. Could she not see that his attitude had been nothing but an act to somehow manage his already annoying existence?

He sighed as he passed a hand over his face feeling the fever still under his skin. He had no idea how long he was to be kept in bed, it was not like they could change what was due to happen anyway. Naruto had never been someone who believed in destiny and fate and such crap, but now he wasn't so sure Neji had been so wrong.

Why did he struggle so much for acceptance?

Because he remembered being loved once. Recalled in the depth of his soul, through fogging memories, what it was like to be accepted by others and be one of them and how it had felt not to be the one standing alone in the dark.

Why did he want to become stronger and show others that he was not the monster they saw in him?

Because the seal's purpose had never been to make Tsune him, but to somehow keep his first friend alive. Naruto wanted to be stronger to be able to defend his point of view and make others realized that their prejudice would not help anyone. On the contrary, they were putting more oil into the already flaring anger that dwelled in both Tsune's and his soul.

Why did he seek so desperately to be Hokage?

Because memories are a pain in the ass.

And why did he want Sasuke?

Naruto blinked at the turn his thoughts had taken. He shook his head closing his eyes. He should focus back on his current problem: how to handle Tsune's and his' situation. As his past self, he had been told that he would die from heart failure, and he had hoped that after using the seal on Tsune, the other would not have to suffer from those consequences. Apparently he had been wrong. Even now, in this new self, he was once again confronted with the hard truth of reality. And damn he hated it! The seal should not have allowed this; their researches had been accurate. Then again the only other one who knew of its difficulty was dead, while the second one who had been with them couldn't have possibly understood the complexity of their conversation back then.

"I can handle it." He said to himself reassuringly.

"Lying to yourself Uzumaki? Or do you still not remember?"

He spun his head alarmed around to glance at the figure standing in the doorframe. Familiar red eyes looked calmly at him. "Uchiha… Itachi!"

The other nodded formally as he came closer. "Yondaime…"

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**TBC in Chapter 04**

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	5. Chapter 04

**A/N:**

Thanks to Greg for betaing!!

I really should be studying! Really should, but somehow I get inspired to write whenever I should be doing something for my studies. sighs Besides, I think you people were probably going to strangle me if I had left you off with just chapter three, right? Now aren't you glad I'm such a nice person? grins

Enjoy

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**Chapter Four**

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He followed Gaara out of pure and utter defiance, knowing very well the other would have rather have had him stay behind waiting somewhere outside the village for him, but goofing around was in his Chibi's nature, not his. Yet this act of rebellion against another was something that he didn't used to do while he had been on his own. Just like the fact that he chose a manner of speaking which was foreign. It was how the Chibi would choose his pattern of speech. Also their thoughts seemed to forge together when one of them was emotionally irritated. The intensity of this matter seemed to be increasing with the passing of time and now that they were apart he felt more powerless than ever before. He was connected and depending on the Chibi, there was no fighting reality. He was trapped by circumstances he couldn't control.

Kakashi and Gaara stopped in front of a large door and before it was opened he could already tell what would be waiting on the other side. The scent in the air was something that did not betray an animal's knowledge. Each being had it's own particular way of smelling and he wouldn't be a creature of the Wild, if he couldn't tell apart the scents of people who had been around him for the last decade. 

Tensing he entered after Gaara into the room to face the Hokage and the Chibi's friends. His eyes instinctively checked out his surroundings and his fasted route for an escape. It was funny, if he thought about it now, before being sealed he would have searched for the easiest ways to attack and how to turn any kind of situation to his favor. Now, when he had to not only to consider his survival but that of another, he would always search for a safe escape. No need admitting that sometimes running was better than fighting useless and meaningless battles. Failure was not an option any longer.

He sighed mentally. These kind of thoughts just reminded him more of controlling the now dormant rage and vengeance that burned in his veins. Memories of how he used to be before all this had happened came back and he found himself in the urge to give in, but he would not fail twice.

Absently he listened to Gaara's conversation with the old hag and Jiraiya. His eyes moved to see Sakura standing next to Kakashi and Iruka. They were of no interest to him. His mind and eyes were focused on none other than Uchiha.

It was confusing the emotions that boy caused in him. For once he could sense the sudden relieve the Chibi emanated to him as he confirmed the other's safety. Yet at the same time he found this boy as a threat. Interesting was that he could not define whether this latter feeling was born from him or the Chibi.

His attention, although not his eyes, refocused on Tsunade as she affirmed Gaara's question whether all the people present would be accompanying her. The air became heavy and he realized that Gaara was just as please as him about this. In other words: not at all.

Traveling with Sasuke…

Dark eyes seemed to have finally felt the pressure of the gaze fixed on him and panic rose within him. Panic that was not his. Naruto was panicking. And as sudden as he understood this, the pain in his heart stroke him hard, making him fall down onto his knees. He gapped for air not really aware of Gaara's presence next to him. He reached up with his hand clutching to the fabric of his shirt trying to will the pain to leave him be.

A hand reached for his shoulder but he slapped it away with his other hand. There was something interrupting the path between his lungs and his mouth. He couldn't breath. Someone must have realized it because he was suddenly lifted from behind and arms tightened the grip around his torso making him cough out.

Blood…

He could smell it as it ran down his lips, underneath his mask and down his neck.

"Tsune!!" Gaara was about to take of his mask but he stopped the hand.

"I…" he breathed heavily as the pain started to cease again. "I'm all right… Need to get back…" the arms behind him let him down again and he stumbled forward into the other demon boy. "He needs me…" he whispered trying to find some calm, but his body was pumping vividly with adrenaline. "I need him…"

Gaara tensed at his words.

-----------------------

Naruto held onto Itachi's shirt as he coughed the blood out trying to regain some of his body's control. Temari was about to lay a hand on his shoulder to check up on him but he stopped it.

"I…" he closed his eyes feeling the adrenaline and the sudden fear fill his veins. "I'm alright…" That was a lie, he knew very well he was pretty far from being fine. "He needs to come back…" he whispered against the other as Itachi pulled him closer and picked him in a swift motion from the ground. He felt tears dwell in the corner of his eyes and he closed them not wanting them to see him weak. A weakness he despised because he wanted acknowledgement. Was it possible to hate oneself?

He let go of Temari's wrist and let himself be brought back to bed. "I need him…" he whispered feeling lost and alone, even though he knew that people surrounded him. He wanted the warm comfort he had had during the last days with Tsune at his side.

The covers were tugged back to his chin and Temari cleaned his face and neck from the blood that he had coughed out. "You should rest now." She said her voice sounding worried.

Lies…

Lies that people tell to one another because it lays in the nature of mortals to make others feel either pain or cared for, even if it is nothing more than an illusion. People call it politeness. A big word for hypocrisy, for pretended sympathy, it's no more than a nice description for a lie.

He heard Temari telling Itachi that it would be better to leave him be for a while and that she would call the medic to check up on him again. The two of them left, but not before the older Uchiha told him that he would be back to finish their conversation. Quietly he listened to the door closing.

Calming himself somewhat and reaching up to his heart he opened his eyes starring at the ceiling as so often lately. He was trapped in this room and it was driving him nuts. There was the feeling Tsune had towards small and closed places and now he had to add his own. He hated it.

Taking a deep breath he pushed the covers to the ground and sat slowly up. Even this little movement cost him a great deal of strength. Something he would never have believed possible. As Naruto he had never been sick until now. As Naruto he was a strong and wild person. A personality created by his hidden urges and emotions mixed with the ones of the Wild Spirit that had dwelled for years in him. But now that a huge part of his memories as Hokage was returning to him, that personality conflicted with his and Tsune's. It was like three people trapped within the same body, just that two of them were in reality one.

Naruto was the part of him he had always controlled in front of others because it was the way he had been brought up by his parents. Naruto represented all he had never had the courage to do. Naruto was what he had always yearned to be in his earlier life and at the same time Naruto reminded him that he was doing nothing more than running from reality and his responsibilities. His mind was in a state of chaos and he was forced to control the tormenting personalities of an adult and a child. He needed to bond them so that the seal could be repaired and he and Tsune would remain as two entities.

But he could not recall clearly the steps he had taken to create the seal in the first place. And for that he needed Itachi. But much like his brother, he sought power. Equivalent trade, the older Uchiha had said. In other words for his help there was a price needed to be paid.

The question was, should he deal with Itachi and betray someone he wanted as friend. Did he have it in him to betray Sasuke?

Seeing it from one perspective he could always come up with a lame excuse like: Sasuke betrayed me first by running after Orochimaru; by trying to attack me. Then again Sasuke had wanted nothing more than to be stronger, just like he had only wanted the other's acceptance that he was not inferior.

Before choosing his path to become that of Naruto, he had been born as one of the many shinobi who lived to fight and protect the village. And to protect what was precious to him, he had been willing to go to death. Yes, he had thought to die to let a friend live, and even though they had not been related by blood, the other had been his family, his brother.

But as Naruto things were different. The confusion between Naruto and his older self had always been there, but it was of no importance, because as Naruto he didn't understand why he wanted acceptance as a living being. At first he had yearned to kill all those around him, because they hated him, because Tsune's fury burned vividly inside. Then slowly he had started to accept things as they were and he even started to be cared for, even if he wasn't entirely sure whether that was simply another display of… politeness. The point was that he had started to open up to those around him. To Iruka, to Kakashi, to Sakura… to Sasuke…

If he chose to help Itachi in return for his assistance on repairing the seal, he would not only be betraying the people he cared for but also his own emotions. The fault would be his own, and he would never heal emotionally to bond his old self and the Naruto-side of him.

"I bet Sasuke never had this kind of problems…" he sighed and pushed his legs over the edge of the bed. "He seems always to know what he wants, security in the choices he makes while being aware of the consequences. I seem like a fool compared to him. " Slowly got up to his feet reaching for the crutches leaning at the bedside table to steady his walk. "It's not normal the way he remains composed…" He breathed out as he reached for the door-handle. He needed some fresh air and more space before he would get completely crazy alone with his thoughts.

-----------------------

"Tsune?"

He blinked slowly unclenching his fingers from the fabric of his shirt. Gaara was standing a few feet away waving with his hand at him.

"Still here?" The demon boy asked.

He nodded slowly. Had he just imagined falling down and holding on to Gaara? Had that not just happened? His eyes widened alarmed. Something had happened to Naruto! His skin was itching and he felt cold and warm at the same time, feverish almost.

Gaara must have caught on because the next thing he asked was: "All right?"

He would have shook his head had they been alone, but with all this people gazing at him he simply couldn't tell Gaara what was going on. "Just spaced out." He finally answered.

Gaara nodded slowly apparently not believing him. The stench of blood was real. It had run down his face and neck, underneath his turtleneck shirt. The other could surely smell it. He felt another intense glare of dark eyes also examining him. Sasuke was watching. He shuddered unwillingly. His thoughts suddenly seeming confused. He felt trapped. So before Gaara could finish his conversation with the old hag, he moved over to him laying a hand on his shoulder.

"I have to go…" he declared as a matter of fact. "I… He needs me…" Turning around he quickly left the room not bothering to see if the sand boy had anything to question.

Something was wrong back at Shadow Village, something that had the Chibi in such a state that he was fusing their minds in a very harmful manner. He didn't want to be someone else, and he knew that Naruto felt the same, their personalities agreed without doubt in that point.

Steps echoed behind him, but he did not turn. Leaving the building quickly he jumped onto the nearest rooftop, hoping to leave behind whoever was following him. A dry smile twitched on his lips. Stubbornness was in his Chibi's nature as much as it was in the one running after him. The temptation to speed up was great, but that would only mean that he would have to increase the amount of chakra in his muscles. In other words give away that he was part of Naruto. So he stopped with his back to his stalker. He heard the almost inaudible landing. He had to admit that Uchiha knew a good deal about stealth, but still not enough to escape the ears of an animal.

"Naruto."

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TBC in Chapter 05 

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	6. Chapter 05

**A/N:**

I bow before Halig for being beta for this chapter and giving me wonderful suggestions. I can only marvel your courage to put up with my horrible mistakes tear-filled puppy eyes.

Anyway, hopefully you like this chapter. I tried to make it longer than my usual ones.

Enjoy

---------------------------------

**Chapter Five**

---------------------------------

"Naruto."

Tsune stopped at the sound of his human counterpart's name.

"You're going back now, aren't you… to Naruto?"

Slowly he turned around to face Sasuke, who was standing a few feet away. He tried to stay calm. "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke moved closer. "Take me with you."

What was Sasuke talking about and when had Sasuke ceased to be Uchiha in his mind?

------------------------------------

Shadow Village had its name for a very good reason. There was no natural light in the caverns beneath the mountain the village was in. The place was well hidden which gave reason enough for its name.

To one side, the only one entrance was through a huge, dark tunnel filled with traps, assuring that people wouldn't come in without permission. To the other side the village was a high cliff on the edge of the mountain. The houses lay hidden by trees in small opened spaces like birds' nests within the smooth cliff.

The sight from the village down to the valley was incredible, while from the mountain or below it one had no sight whatsoever of the village, its houses or its inhabitants.

Naruto stopped at the edge of garden, staring down at the very far away ground.

"Naruto."

He froze at the sound of the familiar voice before turning around, alarmed and stared into dark eyes.

"Sasuke?!" This couldn't be real. Why was Sasuke standing there looking at him with dark rings under his eyes as though he hadn't slept in days?

"I don't understand," he confessed, unsure whether he had spoken it out loud or in his mind. "What are you doing here?"

The boy before him moved his lips but the words did not reach him. Naruto frowned, realizing that it was not really him seeing this, but Tsune. His chest warmed at the sight of the dark haired boy, pleased once again to know, now almost with his own eyes, that he was indeed fine.

It was strange, the feelings that rose within him by just staring straight into those beautiful dark eyes that held so much power over him. The funny thing about it was, the other didn't even begin to understand how much Naruto needed him. Then again, he was not too keen on admitting to himself that he wanted Sasuke close by either.

The vision before his eyes faded, which meant that Tsune's sudden surprised state must have been leaving the demon. Seeing Sasuke becoming less visible hurt his soul for an unknown reason, and Naruto found himself shaking at the urge he felt rising within him to walk over and hold onto this illusion of Sasuke. To make the sight before him real and feel the other's touch on him.

He shook his head.

"What am I thinking?" he whispered, confused.

The old and more rational part of him told him that what he was feeling had a name. It was something he should stop to think about. Yet another part of him, the carefree and happy self, wanted to jump forward and get a good hold of the other's face and press their lips together in passion. The third personality, which most likely was Tsune's, felt uncomfortable, irritated and angry at the first two personalities for making him weak before this mortal boy.

Finally the image vanished and Naruto found his body trembling with adrenaline. He closed his eyes leaned heavily on his crutches to steady himself and to prevent himself from falling off the cliff.

Sasuke was coming. Tsune had just made it very clear to him.

The sudden joy within was damped by the scary knowledge of revealing a truth that he didn't want to share with anyone, not even with Tsune who was a part of him.

"What should I do?" He turned to look back at the valley and the blue sky. "What should I do…"

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He punched the wall with such ferocity that it gave way and he found his fist stuck in a newly-formed hole. He glared at the wall while the demon within stirred in amusement. It knew well that it wouldn't take much more to send Gaara over the edge, breaking his patience. It felt a sick joy at the freedom it would have that would allow it to bring others to their deaths.

_"Gaara-sama, if you wish for us to take you into our village, as heir of Kazekage and your two companions as your personal guards, then you must learn to withstand the urges the creature inside of you insists you follow," the leader of the Shadow Village said. "Death is not a solution, and it won't help you get used to our costumes if you have the people of this village living in fear of your instability." The old man paused, reaching for a scroll and laying it in front him where he sat on the ground. "You must take responsibility for what is yours. And that demon, Gaara-sama, is a problem that you have to learn to dominate for your own survival and that of your friends." _

_Gaara slowly reached for the scroll before him and unfolded it. There were notes on summoning, seals and other variations on how to entrap or call upon a spirit of nature. Gaara looked back to the old man._

_"Are you willing to kill your own brother and sister?" The words formed a sentence that held Gaara's greatest fear, even if he didn't admit to such out loud. "Or are you willing to reign over yourself."_

_He looked away, hurt. "Am I so untrustworthy?" he asked out loud, more to himself than the old man. "Maybe it's because I'm scared." He turned to the other. "Nothing in this world lasts forever and someday you're bound to lose everything."_

_"That is why it is so hard to let people in," the old man replied calmly, and with wise, old eyes he looked steadily into the younger boy's. " What are you left with?"_

_Something within Gaara suddenly felt incomplete. "Nothing…" he answered while putting in his head a name to the feeling inside: emptiness. "… Nobody…" his eyes turned distant and cold. "It is so miserable and inevitable." He held his head in his hands. "It's hard to recover from that…" Old memories rushing through him, stirring the demon within from his slumber. "I never want to deal with that again," he said, exasperated from keeping the demon at bay. Emotions were so complicated to handle for him, especially if he considered that he had held them all back until he had come across a certain blond. "I can't," he continued quietly feeling more and more lost at his inability to control himself completly. "Even if it means being alone for the rest of my life."_

_The old man stood up from his position and came over to him laying a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to meet the eyes that held so much sadness that they reminded them of his own when he had been much younger. This human contact, nothing more than a touch was so foreign yet so comforting that he had to fight back the urge to accept this… compassion. _

_Finally the old man spoke:  "Then you are truly weak."_

He took his hand out of the wall again, raising his other hand to push his palms together. Taking a deep breath, he started to move his fingers quickly in a rhythm already well known to him. Anger pushed against his own mind when it felt Gaara's chakra and blood freeze for an instant. The connection between sub-consciousness and consciousness was cut so that the demon would not have the chance to impose its will upon its host.

Gaara was not a weakling! Not a coward! He would learn to live with the things life threw mercilessly at him and to confront them.

And confront them he would.

He had to talk the Hokage out of bringing all these people along, especially after Tsune's current reaction. Something must have happened to Naruto. They had to return to the shadow village as soon as possible and the others would just slow them down. Yet Gaara had already failed. When he had reminded her that only the village leader and ANBU were aloud to go to the village, she had masterfully countered by saying that they were to accompany her as personal guards. Gaara had no say as to who the Hokage choose for that. In other words, he was stuck waiting for them to gather their stuff, find Uchiha, who had left shortly after Tsune, and come back together to join him.

Good or not, he was at least glad Tsune had already gone ahead on his own a few hours earlier. He would hopefully know what to do to help Naruto, and it was probably safer than have him too close to these people that knew Naruto anyway … or at least were supposed to know him well.

Turning his back to the wall, he leaned on it hiding the hole. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long; Kakashi and the girl were the first to arrive, followed shortly by Jiraya and the Hokage.

"What about the others?" Gaara questioned, noticing the absence of the man with the scar across his face and Uchiha.

"Iruka can't leave his duty at the academy," the woman explained. "As to Sasuke, he was nowhere to be found."

Uneasiness arose in Gaara. Uchiha couldn't have possibly have followed Tsune let alone have convinced the demon to take him with him. The Kyuubi was not careless like Naruto. He couldn't, could he?

------------------------------------

Uchiha stepped closer to him and Tsune felt the urge to either run away or throw himself at this boy. Both emotions that belonged to the Chibi.

"You're going to see Naruto and I'm coming with you." Uchiha declared.

Tsune held back a growl, but was relieved that Uchiha hadn't made the connection between the Chibi and him. "What makes you think I will go to the boy?"

Dark eyes narrowed slightly. "Because I can sense Naruto on you."

Then again he might be wrong.

Thanking all the spirits for the mask he was wearing, he gaped at the other. Yes, this was it; he had definitely lost all respect and honor that came with being a Wild Spirit. A human had just gotten him to stare and gape. And was it just him or were the Chibi and Uchiha obsessed with one another? No one so far had been able to tell that he and the blond had some kind of connection, not even the guy at the ramen shop, and that was something, considering that Naruto spent most of his time there eating. The point was that this stupid, annoying, cold bastard dared to see past his charade!

Gathering his wit together he stepped slowly towards Uchiha, not caring that his movements resembled an animal's closing in on its prey. Maybe threatening would actually have an effect on Uchiha. "Assuming things doesn't mean that they are correct." He let his voice drop menacingly low.

Suddenly a hand reached, out grabbing him by his cloak and pulling him forward to Uchiha. If it weren't for the mask he surely would have felt the warm breath on his skin. "I have no idea who or what you are, but don't think I'm stupid!" Uchiha spat, the Sharingan flaring to life. "You were the one who attacked me back then, pretending to be Naruto! If you did something to him, I'll have your head for it!"

He felt the tip of a blade being pushed against his chest. This kid was seriously insane. He laughed, the dark laughter that was his and not the Chibi's. He couldn't help it. Uchiha was starting to amuse him just the way the Chibi amused him simply by being unpredictable. The look on the boy's face made it all the more amusing to him. It was a face that was torn between anger, confusion and absolute irritation.

He felt the hand on his shirt loosen its grip as the other took a step back, those Sharingan eyes still examining him with anger. Lessening his laughter but not allowing it to disappear completely, he reached up for his mask lowering it slowly and letting the other see his red, slit-pupil eye. "Very well, Sasuke." His feral grin remained hidden as he traced his lips with his tongue. "I will let you come along."

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The small figure of Uzumaki stood in the room, keeping balance with the crutches. Itachi watched him, wondering how the boy had managed to escape the care of the fan-girl. Then again Uzumaki was the Yondaime. Even if he was currently stuck in his younger body, there was probably not much that he couldn't do. Yet Itachi was also aware that knowing in one's head how things worked and were supposed to be done didn't necessarily mean one would be able to put thoughts into actions. Yet he remembered well that the Yondaime had been unpredictable, which meant there was a high chance that he still was. Itachi couldn't let his guard down merely because the boy was injured. He could still call upon the demon's strength within and that alone could be dangerous.

He wanted that power. Power that would assure his survival.

It wasn't that he wasn't strong enough by now. He just wanted more.

"So have you come to answer me?" Itachi asked as he motioned for Naruto to settle down on a seat, but the boy refused.

_You will not show me any more of your weakness then?_

"Yes." The answer was strong and controlled, but the boy's body language betrayed that impression as he hung slightly over, trying to remain on his feet while his breathing came in short and rapid gasps. "I… I have some conditions as well…"

The Sharingan user curiously raised an eyebrow. He had made it clear earlier that he would aid Naruto in repairing the seal, so that the fox demon would be provided with a newly created body, while still retaining some connection to Naruto. Itachi was aware that the demon's dark side would seek blood and death, because it lay in its nature. If so, the demon would willingly come along with him realizing that what it wanted was something Itachi could easily provide. Clear for him was also the fact that he couldn't kill the Yondaime at this point, if he wanted the fox at his side. No matter how strong the new body would be, no matter that their entities would surely no longer be mixed, Naruto was the one who would determine the length of their life. Therefore this boy needed to live.

Itachi recalled quite well when he had been little and had listened in on a conversation between the Sandaime and the old Naruto shortly before the battle against the Nine-Tails had started. The blond had known he was going to die, he had known that his heart bore a disease that would kill him if he overexerted himself. It would fail to pump oxygen through his veins, suffocating the Hokage in the midst of battle. He could recall the empty look in the blue eyes when the man had walked out with the unwavering knowledge that death was what would await him that night.

The Yondaime had survived against all odds.

He had not sought to kill the demon fox.

This knowledge rose in Itachi years afterwards as he realized that the boy with the seal on his body was none other than the man he had admired. But this realization was oppressed by betrayal and lies, lies that were told by the adults. Back then he had been drowning in those lies and insecurity for his own life. For should the demon ever awake knowing that Itachi had been present with the two men who had worked out its seal, then he would be the only one who was not strong enough to fight him off.

Then decisions were made.

He had gotten rid of his weaknesses afterwards, just in case that Naruto would loose himself and allow the demon to rule over that fragile mortal shell. Fear remained Itachi's greatest enemy. Even with all the strength he had gathered until now, the old coward within stirred uncomfortably in the presence of this child.

So then why should he help Naruto?

Because it's better to have your enemies close by and learn to understand them.

Itachi would use the strength of the demon fox by binding Naruto to a contract in which the fox would not be allowed to kill Itachi, and Itachi would refrain from harming Naruto. Besides, repairing the seal would very likely keep the Yondaime's illness at bay as it had done until now.

Mutual interests.

"My condition…" Naruto spoke slowly, obviously trying hard to not break down right where he stood. "If I let… the Nine-Tails… go with you…" He paused catching his breath. The fever was starting to rise again, his eyes held that shiny characteristic of the condition. "You must promise…" he closed his eyes swaying lightly. "Promise…"

Itachi moved forward but blue eyes snapped open, staring angrily at him. Through the fever he witnessed the whirlpool of emotions within the child, and for a moment Itachi found himself pulled into that spiral, drowning in the blue as he had done when he had been but a child. Yet this time, the caring was replaced by the ferocity of hatred as one eye flared red, slit pupil.

"You will keep away from Sasuke!" A deep growl that was no longer Naruto's escaped through his lips. "He lives or we both may very well die!" Nails grew long while Naruto's teeth became the fangs of a beast.

With shocked understanding, Itachi started to comprehend why the boy bore the name of the Uzumaki. This boy was indeed a maddening whirlpool as his name stated, sucking in whoever stood before him. It didn't matter if he wanted to have you dead or cared for your life; the spiral kept on moving rapidly, pulling at you, keeping you, suffocating and finally owning you as he reigned with an incomprehensible strength over the pathetic fool who dared to stand before him.

And slowly and with suppressed discomfort Itachi nodded.

------------------------------------

Sakura glanced back for about the tenth time in half an hour, hoping to see Sasuke following them. But there was no sign of the dark haired boy. She was worried and hoped that the other had not gone away again. After he had disappeared from the Hokage's room, they had found no other sign of him. And although Kakashi had assured her that the boy was probably off somewhere outside the village training, she couldn't help but remain worried.

"How long will it take us?" she asked Tsunade as they made their way through the thick forest following the Shadow Village's ANBU.

Tsunade shrugged. "I haven't really been there…But from the little I know, we should be there by tomorrow. Isn't that right?" she raised her voice for the ANBU ahead to hear.

The masked one nodded as he jumped down from one of the trees, examining the ground carefully. "Yes, although, it appears that the others will arrive before us…" He dusted his hands off as he straightened and turned to them. "You can tell by the way the moss is flattened. They must have passed here at least four hours ago." He crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Traveling speed seems to be increasing…" he added absentmindedly, his voice sounding annoyed. "Insolent fool…"

Sakura looked questioning at the Hokage. "Who is he talking about?"  she asked.

"Sasuke and his companion." Kakashi answered as he moved closer to the ANBU. "I should have known he wouldn't wait."

"Are all your students that impatient?" Jiraiya asked him. He laid a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder as he turned to look down to her. "Listen little one, those two team mates of yours are a troublesome pair, I guess, but they're stubborn enough to be all right."

"Whatever," the ANBU interrupted before she could get the chance to reply. "We should keep our pace, these woods are not safe in the night." Saying this, he jumped back up the tree and proceeded quickly to the next.

They followed, and Sakura could tell that the atmosphere had lightened. Sasuke was not running away again… He was all right…

Right?

------------------------------------

His pace increased as he felt the anger in the Chibi rising. He could feel the skin of his body itching as the energy that supported him was suddenly mixed with his own Chakra.

"Uchiha…" he growled, uneasily stopping on a branch and having the boy behind him almost tumble against him.

"What is it?" An annoyed look marked the dark haired boy's face.

He turned to the boy behind him narrowing his eyes in confusion at the question. "Can you feel that?"

Uchiha 's eyes wandered quickly over the surrounding area. "Feel what?"

The Demon did not pay him any attention, instead he sniffed the air. "That smell…" he remembered that scent, recalled the feeling it was usually accompanied with. The demon howled in a low voice: "Betrayal…"

Something was about to change.

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TBC in Chapter 06 

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	7. Chapter 06

**A/N:**

Yeah!! I finally finished this chapter!

I'm very sorry for taking this long, but I was having trouble with it. I even had two versions and rewrote them about four or five times. But I'm happy with how it turned out now.

Thanks to Halig for beta and putting up with my horrible grammar and mistakes and to Greg who pointed some remaining mistakes of mine out.

Thanks a lot!!

I hope you like this chapter

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**Chapter Six**

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Temari slapped Naruto over the head. "Are you stupid or what?!" she asked angrily before picking him up and carrying him on her back over to the bath to help him clean himself. "Going all by yourself to see Uchiha on the other side of the village. " She scowled. "What were you thinking?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Actually, I wasn't-""

"Exactly!" She set him down on the small stool and glared at him the way a mother would when she was scolding her child. "Something could have happened to you and who would Gaara be blaming at the end?" She pointed at herself. "Me!"

He raised his hands defensively. "Nothing happened. I was just talking to him, okay?"

She narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"Besides, you wouldn't have let me go even if I _had_ asked you."

"Hell no!" she said exasperatedly, reaching for his sweaty shirt and pulling it over his head.

Blue eyes looked up at her curiously. "Would you have let him come back again?"

"No, not after what happened when he was here," she answered.

He sighed again. "See, that is just why I didn't ask you and went on my own."

She took a deep breath as she turned to close the door of the bath so that he wouldn't get cold from the air outside and put his shirt in with the dirty laundry. "I'm responsible for you Uzumaki," she said seriously. "You can't go doing whatever you want. There are certain rules that apply to this village that have to be followed." Walking over to him, she turned the warm water knob in the tub on before sitting down on the edge, facing him. "You might be related to one of the Hokage, but that doesn't mean you don't have to consider what other people think or feel, Naruto." Her voice softened as she laid a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. "But I guess in that matter you and Gaara are much alike. Children trapped in a body with someone whose knowledge and behavior is either that of an ancient murderer or of a very wise being."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Are you saying Tsune is wise?"

She let out a small laugh. "Not necessarily, especially since your personality seems to have affected his too much." She turned to look at the rising steam from the water. "What I mean is that those creatures inside of you and Gaara are different from us… us humans. I believe that you, much like Gaara, live in unnoticed conflict with your spirit within." She paused. "We're children, Naruto. You and Gaara may not feel like that, but you are still children." She turned the water off and reached with her hand to check that it wouldn't be too hot. "There is no denying it," she continued. "You see, that thing that dwells within you is a creature that has lived for more than we could probably ever comprehend. A lifespan that we cannot even begin to understand because it does not lie in a mortal's realm of experience." She sighed. "In here-" She pointed at his head. "-you have a conflict, for there are the thoughts of an adult, a being who is old and isn't used to being ordered around. But there is also you, a child that holds innocence… that your eyes are already losing." She got up to her feet. "Let me help you out of your pants." She said, changing the subject.

He blushed furiously.

"It's not like it would be the first time." She grinned. "Who do you think helped Gaara when you were first brought in? Not Kankuro, I assure you."

His face turned even redder. "Hell, I don't care, I was unconscious most of the time anyway!!" he snapped. "This time I'm pretty much awake."

She shrugged. "Well then get them off and get in so I can wash your back."

"Talking about children, I'm not so little that I can't do this on my own." He said, the faint rose on his cheeks betraying his embarrassment. "You can leave."

"I don't care." She grinned in amusement. "Or have you forgotten about the responsibility I just told you about?"

He growled in frustration. "I hate my life!"

She turned around, giving him some privacy. "Well get moving." She heard him curse under his breath followed shortly by the sounds of clothing being removed and Naruto getting into the tub. "Can I turn?"

"I guess."

She turned and reached for the stool where he had sat earlier and sat down. She then reached for a sponge and dipped it into the water around Naruto. Amused, she watched Naruto's discomfort as he tried to hide his private parts with his hands. She washed his back slowly and silently, feeling him relax after a while.

"Naruto?"

He hummed questioningly, his eyes closed.

"About the thing Itachi wanted from you…"

"The deal?" He opened his eyes and looked at her from the corner of his eyes.

She nodded.

She felt him take deep breath. "My health and his help in exchange for Tsune… for my powers…" _as Hokage… _he added mentally.

She stopped scrubbing his shoulder.

"We agreed…"

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I can see the frightening creature as it howls over the top of the trees, causing the earth to tremble at its voice. The air is tense and heavy and even from this far I can make out the fury that bursts from its soul.

_The crunching sound of trees as it crushes them with its huge paws echoes loudly on in the night as the creature comes closer to the village. Voices rise all around the village as fear and disorientation starts to slither into the people's minds, causing panic to rise with every passing minute. The night seems to grow even darker and when I look for a little bit of hope at the moon, I see that its face is smeared with the color of the dead. It announces with its crimson visage the inevitable battle that stands before us. _

_The clouds move in front of the bloody moon, making the forms of the people standing around me fade away into the shadows. _

_And then I see a light glowing in the distance, out there where the creature stands. At first it is no more than a reddish spark, but it grows steadily brighter until it blazes with such intensity that I am forced to look away._

_I can hear the old man next to me say something, sharp and angry, but I don't understand him since I'm not really listening. The dark chakra that is flaring like a tongue of fire consumes my thoughts, making my body tense up at its ferocity._

_I remain unmoving and slowly I realize that I am indeed the only thing in the terrace that has not changed since I first laid eyes on the demon._

_I glance slowly to the men around me moving frantically at the command of the man they call the Sandaime. I glare irritably after the old man as he leaves with some of them. But when I let my eyes wander over the remaining, I feel an uncontrollable guilt at the sight of the flashing madness in their eyes as human reason is swept aside by the dreadful creature that continues approaching us. I can see their minds losing their normal control, realizing at the same time that their bodies are just as tense as my own. I see some straightening their backs in order not only to not give in to the obvious physical advantage that this creature possesses, but also to strengthen their own thoughts against the dark and evil aura that it emits._

_The clouds above us seem to thicken and I have the sensation that it will rain soon, but the water refrains from coming down upon us. I don't know whether to see this as a good sign or if I should see it as a warning from Mother Nature that even she doesn't wish to be in our place tonight. _

_I know they are waiting for my orders, but I do not know what to say. Should I tell them to go and confront the demon that the Wild Spirit, the Nine-Tails, has become? Yet I realize that I might as well tell them to take out their kunai and rip open the flesh on their necks. Both would lead to a death unsuitable for these men that have shown me so much respect over these last few years._

_I grind my teeth together as my hands tighten painfully around the fence of the balcony. I realize with sinister irony that I had known deep in my heart that this would happen the moment I moved away from Shadow Village. _

Screams fill the night and I can no longer compare that monstrous being with the beautiful creature I met so long ago. There is no resemblance anymore; only its power, uncontrollable and wild, is still the same. My throat tightens as I see the tails move swiftly over the trees of the forest, its eyes blazing with hatred and anger as it continues destroying the forest, the things it once protected and loved.

_I can feel the crying of a soul but I am unable to determine whether it is the demon's or my own. _

_I speak up, trying to let my voice sound controlled and without fear. I cannot let them see that discomfort that is spreading within me. At my command the remaining men and women leave after the Sandaime to help out at the front to hold back the creature._

_Desperate, my grip continues to tighten as a metallic smell fills the air… blood is being spilled and the red moon knew that tonight death would be our dance partner._

_What have I done?! I cannot watch this!!_

_I turn around unable to keep on watching this torment outside and I retreat to the empty and dark room behind me. _

_I can feel my body trembling in desperation, fear, and I am suffocating with the sheer pressure that urges me to decide between the life of my best and closest friend and the lives of hundreds of people that I don't even know by name._

_I'm being torn apart._

_Fate is cruel and seems to have a dislike for me as she strikes her knife down my back, forcing me to decide. _

_I clench desperately at my hair as a small hand reaches out to me. I let my eyes wander down to the child standing next to me. His dark eyes look with fear and anticipation up to meet mine. In them I see the reflection of all those that have crossed my path since the appearance of the Nine-Tails._

_And suddenly I know what I have to do._

_I lay a hand on the Uchiha boy's hair before turning around, knowing too well that the path I choose would deny me the brightness of the sun of the coming morning._

Naruto awoke with a scream, sweating again in cold fever.

He could only see blood and its heavy scent filled the air, accompanied by the screams of people dying in unbearable pain. Disoriented, he tried to throw off the covers but hands held him down to the bed as a female voice ordered him to calm down.

But he couldn't. She had not seen what he had caused. She had not seen what he… what the Nine-Tails had done. All those people… all those innocent…

And so he cried, unable to do anything else while the female next to him made him drink something bitter and forced him to return to the madness that reigned in his sleep.

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Itachi read over the manuscripts the Yamikage, the Leader of the Shadow Village, had given him while warning him of the consequences of failing to help Naruto. The old man had made it clear that should Naruto not be able to repair the seal, not only could it mean the boys death, but it would also bring a great disaster for the entire region that was between the Sand Village and the Mist Village, which included other Ninja villages like the Leaf and the Shadow Village itself.

He probably could care less what happened to all those people. It wasn't like he didn't already have others' blood dripping from his hands, but in the case of Kyuubi's death, things could turn out pretty badly even for him.

After leaving the Leaf Village and joining the Akatsuki, he had dedicated much of his time researching various types of sealing jutsu, but it had almost been impossible to find any information on the Spirits that were trapped within Naruto or Gaara.

He remembered Orochimaru's words as the other had asked him why Itachi simply didn't use Gaara. Back then he didn't answer, and even if he had, he was pretty sure the other would not have understood his feeling on wanting to defeat and maybe surpass the man that he had once admired and who had betrayed his trust. To comprehend the complexity of emotions and thoughts that went through Itachi's head, Orochimaru would have had to know the Yondaime much better than he did. Itachi had been around the fourth Hokage as long as he could remember while he had been a child. His mother, being one of his personal guards, was allowed to take him along as often as she could. The Yondaime used to say that family and friends were the most important things in the world and that she must take good care of him while she could. Even after his younger brother's birth and his mother's retirement, the man came by and took care of him more than his own father ever had.

But when one grows up, things get more complicated. You start realizing that the world is no longer black and white but millions of shades of grays that twist reality depending on your perspective. And in Itachi's point of view the Yondaime had betrayed them all. He had lied in order to survive. It was a coward's decision and he would never forgive something like that.

He concentrated back on the manuscripts on the table. The writings told of the Wild Spirits that maintained the balance of Nature and represented different elements, like Gaara's Shakaku who ruled over the sand as representative for the earth, the Spirit of the Water that dwelled in the depths of the sea at the northern borders of the Mist Village's territory and nurtured the earth and allowed things to grow.

It also mentioned Naruto's Nine-Tails…

The Kyuubi…

The manuscript spoke of him too. He was the lord that ruled upon the earth, controlling the spirits and representing the element of fire.

Fire was the beginning and end of everything. Its warmth could sustain, its passion inspire one's spirit and its terrible fury consumed those who opposed it. Fire could take a solid thing and melt it into liquid, that liquid into gas and ultimately flash even the gas into nothingness.

The Kyuubi was the center that divided the territories of the Wild Spirits, keeping them from fighting each other. Yet he had left his position, leaving the land unprotected, exposing it to the tortures that were in the human world. Those Guardian Spirits were sacred and blessed, the power they wielded protected them from all kinds of jutsu, but they were still flesh… still blood. They could suffer just like any other being and there was a limit to anyone's endurance. You could withstand the chaos that ruled around you for just a certain amount of time. And time tended to come to an end.

The Soul of the Guardian Spirits had been corrupted and some of them had turned to vengeful and destructive demons like Gaara's Shukaku, who was constantly out for blood when his host lost control of him.

The Shadow Village assisted Itachi in his research since they lived right in the center of the Kyuubi's original territory and would be to first ones affected should the Nine-Tails die. Because of their intimate link with the Nine-Tails, they had accumulated massive amounts of data on it.

Still these records didn't hold the information for the original sealing procedure the Yondaime had performed on the Nine-Tails and he highly doubted Naruto remembered, otherwise he would have told him… right?

This meant he would need to get his hands on the original records.

He sighed and closed the manuscript in front of him. Staring down at his hands, for a moment he wondered whether the Yondaime had known what killing the Nine-Tails meant. For an instant, Itachi allowed himself to question his view on the fourth Hokage's choice so many years ago.

The instant didn't last long.

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Naruto remained unmoving in his bed after awaking. His head hurt and his body ached, although the fever had lowered thanks to the medicine Temari had given him. What frustrated him was that it was becoming less and less effective on him. It was almost as though his body was adapting and decided that it might be a good thing to become immune to something that might actually rid him of the pain he was currently in.

His heart seemed to clench tighter in his chest and he gripped the covers of his bed, trying to will the pain away with little success. Soon the fever would rise again and Tsune was still not here to help his body hold back the illness that spread with every passing hour.

He tried to relax but the smell in the air irritated his calming thoughts, making him feel more uncomfortable than he already was. The problems were these clothes, this house, this place and him… Most of the clothes he had worn while here were Gaara's, just like this place belonged to the sand boy. Everything made Naruto distressed. Even without Tsune he could smell the demon on the fabric no matter how often they washed it. It wouldn't even have wondered him, if they had been sandy in the first place.  And this house was just as much as his clothing soaked with the scent of a demon that wanted him dead even though its host wasn't sharing the same opinion.

Naruto took a deep breath, feeling his chakra flare out of balance for a moment. Ever since he had performed the Jutsu for Tsune's body his body had weakened greatly. Although right now, he sensed the energy that left his body turn less and less, which meant that Tsune must be in the perimeters of the city already …  in other words Sasuke was near too.

Suddenly he tensed feeling a familiar energy approach him

"What do you want Itachi?" he asked without bothering to open his eyes, yet he let it show in his voice how displeased he was with the others presence.

"Just came by to let you know that I'm leaving." Came the deep voice as the steps moved closer, until Naruto could sense the man standing right next to his bed.

"The Nine-Tails will be here with your brother soon." Naruto stated forcing his hand to open and his body to relax so Itachi couldn't see how bad he was indeed feeling. "I thought we had agreed that you keep away from him."

"Ah…" Naruto could feel those Sharingan eyes watching his probably pale and weak form as the other paused. "It just wanted to tell you that it might take me longer than expected to get the forbidden scrolls from Leaf Village. Tsunade is not easily deceived."

"…She won't be there." Naruto replied, opening his eyes to meet the red ones. "She's on her way here…"

It was strange to see the boredom expression of Itachi change into one of surprise. "And how would you know that?"

"That..." A wide and mischievous grin lit the pale face; he couldn't help it. "…Is my secret." Their eyes remained locked while a long and tense pause followed. It was Naruto who interrupted the silence next. "You should leave now, my _other_ me will be able to smell you otherwise."

Itachi watched him and Naruto could tell the other was trying to read through his expression what was really going on in his head. After a short moment Itachi finally spoke: "I'm not stupid, you know."

Naruto could see his reflection in those eyes as his boyish face brightened, amused, yet his expression remained that of an old man smirking at a child's naivety. "You say so, but _you're_ the one who remains here and_ you_ were the one who suggested this… _deal_."

"How smart are _you_ for agreeing with me?"

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Impatience was something that Tsune would probably never learn to control. One would think that being trapped for more than a decade he would have learned to get at least the hint of the significance of patience, but in that area he had never been a good student.

He hurried along the road of the Shadow Village, barely aware that Uchiha followed him. Barely… He hadn't forgotten it completely otherwise he would have gone like the wind through the streets towards the sand boy's house and would by now have crawled up to his Little One. The link between them urged him to hurry, but the fact that he could lose Uchiha around here with him having no clue of the dangers that dwelled in this cave city was not something he wanted, as it would bother his needed time with the kit. So he moved slowly enough for the other to be able to keep up, but fast enough to give in to his needs.

He recalled a long forgotten memory from a time he tried not to let his thoughts drift into.

He had run like the wild creature that he used to be; he had been free of all this mortal nonsense, joyful and respectful towards all creatures. There had been a sense within him back then, that no words could describe. It was more than just being who he was, it was more than being… whole with those spirits around him, and yet… at the end all that had mattered was that wide smile that he had met atop the hill in the forest.

It was no more than a child; small and fragile like the flowers blooming in the vast fields that he had ruled. His little legs making him tumble as he ran playfully after the insects. And as the child had set his bright eyes upon him, he greeted him with a gurgling laughter only human children can make. There had been no fear and no ill will within that little one, only amused curiosity as his small and pale little hands reached out and touched his fur.

Up until then no mortal had dare to touch him, the Guardian Spirit of those lands, not one had not run away at the sight of his nine tails whipping in the air. And then this child had come along, with nothing but his innocence, and had captured the interest of one of the most powerful beings that dwelled in the shadows. And it had dared to call him 'wau-wau'.

_'I am no dog, you stupid child,' I tell him indignantly. _

_"Wau-wau!" The kid gurgles as it clings onto me. _

_I move away and the child falls forward, not able to keep its balance. Instinctively I catch it with one of my tails. For a moment I think that it might start squirming in fear. But to my surprise it barely blinks before its laughter fill my ears again. _

_Its naivety and innocence irritates me. I find myself filled with curiosity about this strange little human. Not that it is the first time I have seen one, but up until now even the smallest of the mortals are to some point afraid of me. _

_It calls me by that name again as I lift it closer to my eyes to smell. It pats my nose, once again letting that amused sound escape its throat. _

_'I am fox, Little One, a Kitsune, not a 'wau-wau',' I growl at it._

_Its head turns to one side. "Wau-Wau?"_

_"Call me Fox, Kitsune or whatever, but not wau-wau!" I say in its head, my voice probably sounding very harsh. _

_"Tu… Tune?" It tries to repeat oblivious to my rudeness._

_I have the slight urge to bite this child, but instead I find myself correcting its speech. "Kitsune."_

_"…Tsune!" It claps its hands together nudging its face against my nose. "Tsune!!" it repeats again._

_I lower the little one to the ground. "You're rather stupid, aren't you?"_

_"Tupid?"_

_Humans are definitely less intelligent beings._

Back then the Yondaime had triggered his curiosity just as much as Naruto had not so long ago. But the connection he had with his Little One now differed greatly to his relation with the Yondaime, yet to some point that he couldn't explain, Naruto and the old man were very much alike.

But that didn't matter now. He had found what he wanted. He could think about everything else later.

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Sasuke followed the red haired Naruto through the house they had entered a while back. He felt like he was being observed wherever they went and Sasuke was starting to lose his patience. He wondered about his state of mind and why he had blindly followed this boy who he didn't even know. He couldn't comprehend his own behavior and unwavering trust in a complete stranger.

He shook his head lightly.

No, this person in front of him wasn't unfamiliar. He could recall having seen that red eye before when Naruto had defended him against Orochimaru's snake. But they had both been red, not one like this boy had shown him before returning his mask to his face. And_ this _Naruto's energy was also different. It was stronger and wilder, even though he had only been able to see very little of it until now. But it was familiar; Sasuke knew must have been exposed to that energy at some point or he wouldn't feel this safe.

The redhead finally opened a door entering a room and moving quickly over to a bed. Before Sasuke could react the other had almost thrown himself at the figure laying there.

"Ow! Tsune!!" a voice complained. "That hurt! You're heavy, get off me"

Sasuke eyes widened as he recognized the voice. "Naruto…"

The movement on the bed stopped and the red haired boy rolled to the side, giving view to Naruto, and took his mask off. Ignoring the fact that there were two almost identical Naruto's there, Sasuke couldn't believe the sight before him. The boy was pale and had dark rings around his eyes. The pillow that helped him sit straight seemed to swallow the thin form, making the blond seem more fragile than Sasuke could ever recall seeing him.

"Sasuke…" the blond said his name, a gentle smile brightening the sweaty face. Naruto was about to continue but the red haired boy moved back to his earlier position, nudging his face against Naruto's, willing the blond's attention away from Sasuke.

Sasuke saw blue eyes close slowly as Naruto leaned back into the pillow. His pale skin seemed to gain some color in that moment and the rings under his eyes started to fade. Naruto lifted his arms up moving them around the redhead's neck, pulling him closer to him. It appeared to Sasuke as though they were trying to become one.

The red haired lay down on Naruto closing his eyes and falling asleep exhausted, but surprisingly, Naruto's health seemed to have been restored to what Sasuke was used to see. The blond opened his eyes slowly letting go of the other.

A soft snort escaped Naruto as he slightly shook his head. "It's good to have you back Tsune," he said, patting the other's head before turning his attention back to Sasuke, who was still standing in the doorway. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, Sasuke," Naruto said, giving him another warm smile.

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They had stopped and Shukaku was twisting within with rising discomfort. It wasn't unusual for the demon to behave that way; it had ever since Gaara had decided to live in the Shadow Village. But the displeasure of having to spend the night in these woods was almost frightening as well as exciting for the demon.

The Hokage and the old perverted man had decided that they shouldn't continue wandering at night in unknown territory. Gaara couldn't understand their decision, but he figured it was because of the girl traveling along with them. She was the weakest of them all and her exhaustion had been visible on her face for hours. In his opinion they should have left her home.

He sighed.

No one asked his opinion.

The man who they called Kakashi had lit a fire and the others gathered around. He offered Gaara food but he wasn't hungry. He was annoyed.

Something moved behind him in the dense undergrowth. Out of reflex, he threw a kunai at the source, alerting the others with his action and causing them to gather in a defensive position near the girl. He narrowed his eyes behind his mask as a small animal came out and hurried away. Gaara snorted and walked over to pick up his kunai and let it disappear quickly under his cloak.

What was wrong with him?

He was on the edge with his nerves.

Shukaku twitch within again and somehow Gaara understood that it wasn't him who felt discomfort but the demon. If he didn't know better he'd say the demon appeared afraid of these woods, afraid of what lurked in the dark that he couldn't see. A sleeping danger that should not be awakened, but the villagers had not warned Gaara of anything that they might encounter out here.

He turned around, seeing the others glance at him in curiosity and maybe amusement at his defensive reaction just now, but he could care less. He settled against a tree away from the fire and let his eyes wander over to the dark surrounding them now that the sun had settled. Something was wrong here and Shukaku knew. The demon never feared, but here in this forest it always felt nervous as though he knew something Gaara didn't. But unlike Naruto and the Nine-Tails, Gaara didn't communicate with the one dwelling in him who tried to corrupt his mind. It was almost the same feeling Shukaku had felt at the sight of Gamabunta being transformed into a fox…

_Territory…_

Gaara turned sharply around at the sound of a voice.

"Something wrong?" Jiraiya asked him but Gaara quieted him, raising his hand.

Slowly he got back to his feet ordering the sand to slowly gather nearby but still out of sight of the ones traveling with him.

_Not my territory…_

The voice spoke again but he couldn't tell where it came from. "Did you hear that?" Gaara asked slowly.

A negative reply was his only answer.

_Invading territory that is not mine…_

Gaara growled in frustration realizing that the voice he heard was only in his head. He raised his hands performing quickly a sealing jutsu and cutting Shakaku from his mind.

It was rare to hear the demon's voice when he was awake. It was no wonder he hadn't recognized it at first. It couldn't be a good thing to hear the other speak, it only meant that Gaara's will was starting to be overthrown by the demon's.

"I'll be back soon." He said leaving the camp hurrying into the dark.

He remembered that nearby was a little stream where he could refresh himself and maybe calm down. He took his mask off and splashed his face with water. His muscles tensed at the cold contact.

"This is way too much trouble…" he stated, taking his shoes off and walking into water.

Before he had learned to cut off the demon from his thoughts, Gaara avoided any contact to water due to Shukaku's dislike for it, but now that the other was trapped for a while in the depth of his sub-consciousness Gaara could enjoy the refreshing feeling.

He looked up to the moon, but it was barely there; the new moon would be in a few days.

He had the feeling that tonight he wouldn't be able to sleep even with Shukaku sealed away. He had thought that after learning the sealing jutsu he would finally be able to get a decent night's sleep since the other couldn't force its way into his mind for a few hours, but he had been wrong.

He recalled Naruto thrashing feverishly in his bed. The blond had suddenly sat up screaming and Gaara had rushed over to him trying to calm him. The medics had been very clear in warning Gaara that stress could be very harmful to the other's heart. The blond had cried, flinging his arms around Gaara, crying about how he didn't want him and the people he cared for to die, how he didn't want go back to those dreams, because those dreams were where death and uncertainty lurked…

Gaara knew what was wrong. Naruto was scared to sleep like him; it didn't matter how much they wanted to… because sleep only meant waking up with the sheet tightly gripped between clenched fists, breathing that was almost unbearable and didn't come easy…it called upon tears… the cries… the images that wouldn't leave their already tortured minds…

For Gaara it involved things he had done as well as the memories that belonged to the demon in him. But he was sure that Naruto's nightmares were the Nine-Tail's alone.

And so both of them couldn't find rest, even if they knew how to, because their own minds were already overflowing with memories that were starting to become their own.

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**TBC in Chapter 07**

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	8. Chapter 07

**A/N:**

Okay, I know I haven't updated in months, I'm well aware of that and I won't even start to explain why. But, for all those that thought I had dropped this fic, I am not. It might take me a while to update from now on due my studies, but I will continue to work on this whenever I have time.

Also since I feel kinda bad about this late update, I didn't dare to ask my old betas to help me check out spelling and grammar, which means that there will be a lot of mistakes in this chapter.

Still, I hope you enjoy it .

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Chapter Seven 

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Sasuke didn't know what to say now that he was standing here in the same room as Naruto. Tons of things he had wanted to speak about had kept his mind busy throughout the journey here, but now that he actually stood in front of the blond he didn't know how to act, less alone what to think of the red-haired in Naruto's arms.

Naruto sighed and pushed the form of the other boy to the side and moved his legs over the border of the bed. The moment the blond lost contact with the other, Sasuke noticed that a sickness seemed to surge again in the other when his face paled visibly.

Pushing himself from the bed Naruto stood for a moment just starring at him, then he stumbled awkwardly forward; it appeared as though he hadn't used his legs in a long time, but his eyes were bright and his smile did not falter even though Sasuke could clearly see the flash of pain every step he took caused to him. And as he stood before him grinning the way Sasuke had come to love and miss during the last weeks, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to embrace the seemingly frail figure before him, only to confirm that this was real.

Just the moment he came in contact with Naruto's shoulders the smile broke. Retreating in surprise, Sasuke couldn't react as Naruto's legs gave out under him and he fell to his knees. The blond's hands reached up to his chest and his fingers clenched to the shirt, his face turned white and sweat formed on his forehead. Sasuke watched shocked as blue eyes became glassy and the other's breathing came in short and obviously fearful gasps.

"Sas-" but before Sasuke finally reacted and reached out, Naruto had already crumbled to the side like a lifeless creature who had just been killed.

"Na...NARUTO!!?" he screamed touching Naruto by the shoulder again, but a hand pushed him forcefully from the blond and he crashed against the wall.

Regaining quickly focus of his surroundings, Sasuke saw the red haired boy lean over Naruto trying to pump life back into him. Sasuke noticed that his face was just as Naruto's pale and sweaty and he could feel this boy's chakra diminishing quickly. And for the first time he noticed that the boy had two different colored eyes.

Suddenly a loud sound followed a smoke cloud and Sasuke realized in confusion that the red haired had been a Shadow Clone.

Pushing his just acquired knowledge to the back of his mind, he rushed over and checked for a pulse on the blond's throat, but to his horror there was no life sign. Ripping the shirt open he immediately proceeded to give him a heart massage. Listening to his own heartbeat pulsing with adrenaline through his veins, Sasuke tried to pump in rhythm to his own heart the life back into his friend's body.

"Com'on!" he growled, frustration rising with every second that the blond remained immobile. "Don't you dare die on me now, you idiot!" he cried not sensing the crystal liquid coming down his face.

---------------

"I'm glad you came, sensei." Temari said as she walked alongside the doctor towards Naruto's room. "He's been pushing himself a lot lately and although his fever has not returned for a while, I think it would be a good idea for you to check on him."

"His condition is still not stable and probably never will." The medic sighed. "His heart has been under a lot of pressure apparently most of his life, but there is something else that disturbs me greatly."

Temari looked at her. "Is it bad?"

The doctor just looked at her for a while before answering. "I think so..." she turned to look forward. "Before you found him... I think he had already suffered a state where his heart had stopped... and I think not only once..."

Temari's eyes widened. "Why hadn't you told us earlier?!"

"Because I wasn't sure!" the doctor replied stressed. "A case like this has never been presented to me and to make the matter worse, it appears so rarely that no one actually bothered to find an efficient cure to it." She looked back to Temari. "My father told me that there was once another case like this twenty years ago, but that the man died before he could come back and my father could finish finding a cure. "again she sighed deeply. "Still, he's better off here in my hands that with someone else, because I actually _know _what is going on with him, but I feel at the same time at loss, because I am trapped by the lack of knowledge as to _how_ to treat it appropriately since my father died without leaving much notes on this."

Temari stopped. "That other man you speak of..."

The tall woman turned to her crossing her arms. "The man was someone from our village but left due to his own desire to return to where his family had originally come from before joining the Shadow Village."

"The Fourth Hokage..."

The medic nodded slowly.

Temari looked away from her. "Gaara told me that Naruto was related to him, probably his son..."

Again the tall woman nodded. "Yes, I had heard that much from the Elders, which astound me, because it would mean that it's an illness that should have appeared more often, considering that it's passed on to the next generation."

The blond turned her eyes back to the doctor. "What didn't you tell Gaara?"

Surprised eyes starred back at Temari for a moment before closing in a somewhat amused way. "So you noticed..."

"We all did, but Gaara didn't think it would be important since you hadn't said anything to him."

A snort escaped the medic. "I was told not to tell Gaara-sama everything due to the one sleeping in him."

This time it was Temari's turn to look surprise.

Smiling softly the tall woman continued. "Shukaku-sama is known to us as the guardian of the western lands beyond our borders, he rules over the deserted and dry lands, but he was imprisoned by humans long before he was forced into Gaara-sama's body.

"A guardian spirit forced into prison by those who cannot even comprehend the mind of such creature, nor can they even begin to understand the meaning of eternal prison. It might be that we mortals think that what seems for us many years isn't much for someone who has never worried about time itself, but this is just were we start out wrong.

"It is because we cannot begin to understand what time means, that those creatures feel different towards it than us. Robbing

them of the freedom that they are used to have is like taking the air we humans need to breath. It is stealing what is essential for their survival.

"Humans feel threatened and desolated when they are not in their own territory, they are angry and scared when trapped and want revenge. When Shukaku-sama was kidnapped into a place of solitude and complete isolation, his mind not understanding _our_ way of thinking, as we cannot understand his, was forced into a world of madness from which he couldn't escape. He probably could only sense that which was close to him; Humans feeling victorious and amused about his lack of freedom.

"Now, tell me, what would a creature like that want, once it has the smallest chance to act against those who stole what he needs from him?"

Temari closed her eyes. "Revenge..." she whispered.

"Yes, revenge."

Opening her eyes again, knowing she couldn't hide the sadness in them, she looked once more at the woman standing before her. "But I don't understand what this all has to do with Na-"

"The Nine-Tails."

Temari blinked. "The Nine-Tails?"

"Yes, the Nine-Tails is... _was_ the ruler of the lands that stretch from Shukaku-sama's domain to the northern icy land and to the ocean in which the Guardian of the sea sleeps. It was his duty to keep the other guardians from claiming other territories and to keep them safe from many harms including one another.

It is passed on in the legends of old that he was a very strong being but feared by many. People came to try to do with him the same that was once done to Shukaku-sama and probably other guardians, but never succeeded until... "the dark haired woman shrugged. "Well, until those of the Leaf Village sealed him in Naruto-sama." She looked meaningful at Temari. "So you see, we cannot tell Gaara-sama everything about Naruto-sama, because he might loose what control he has learned so far over Shukaku-sama. If the Guardian of the Sand finds out that there is a chance to take the Nine-Tails territory he will use what he can to destroy his host and be freed again. Apparently it is in their nature to expand, and if such happens, we of the Shadow Village will be in the middle of it, because this lands is were the Nine-Tails resided, and the green forest that keep us safe, will turn to ashes and the land with die out."

Temari nodded slowly in understanding. "So you won't tell me either what exactly goes on with Naruto?"

The woman shook her head. "No, you are also too close, and although not a threat like Gaara-sama's resident, you are linked to them _all."_ The woman touched her shoulder. "But let us not speak of things we cannot change for now. We should go see how our young Hokage heir is doing."

Temari sighed deeply continuing her way. Things never seemed easy, everything was complicated and who knew how far they could _really_ trust these people. It didn't matter that they accepted them into their village, because no matter how long they remained here or how much they helped them out, it would never be truly their home. Maybe Gaara didn't want to accept this, but Temari knew well that the little peace of minds they had found here couldn't possibly last for long.

Nothing ever did, and it would only be a childish desire to hold onto something so fragile as peace.

Dangers lurked everywhere. Maybe not right now; maybe not here either; no one could tell for sure, but one thing she was sure off was that after every time of peace a time of war would follow. It was something that could never be avoided because it was made life out.

Turning at the end of the corridor down to Naruto's room, they heard a loud crash as though something had been thrown against the wall. The medic looked startled at Temari taking at the same time some kunai out of her white sleeves. Temari had already her fan in her hand. Quietly but hurrying they rushed towards Naruto's room.

Opening the door they came just in to see a dark haired boy leaning over the blond on the ground. . "Don't you dare die on me now, you idiot!" He cried.

Moving over to them, Temari watched the medic kneel down on Naruto's other side. She reached out to the boy's eyes and pushed with her fingers the eyelids open giving sight to a slit pupil red eye. She looked up to Temari and nodded her to take over Sasuke's position.

Kneeling next to Uchiha, she touched the boy's shoulder and called out his name when he didn't react to his name. "Let me do it, you're not doing it correctly. "she said and pushed him slightly away so that she could continue more calmly his previous work.

The doctor turned to Sasuke. "Uchiha-san!"

Sasuke looked worriedly up to her not even wondering how she knew his name. She could see the tears still coming out of his eyes. "Give him mouth-to-mouth every five heart-beats!" she didn't wait for him to confirm her order. She closed her eyes for a moment and as she opened them again the Byakugan had awoken in them. Checking for a chakra flow she saw the already disappearing lines around Naruto's stomach.

Then laying her hands on where the seal should have been visibly, she gave Naruto a shock with her own chakra when Temari had stopped for Uchiha to breath air into Naruto. Reacting to the sudden energy pulse Naruto's body jumped slightly up, but showed no farther reaction.

Temari was about to continue, but the medic stopped her moving one of her hands towards Naruto's chest. And again she shocked him with a stronger chakra pulse. The Uchiha boy had ceased to give Naruto air, watching her as she gave the body a third energy shock. The seal under her left hand started to awake quickly and she could see, due to her eyes, the energy filling the small body as Naruto's own chakra mixed with the Nine-Tails and rushed throughout his system. Naruto gasped for air and the dark haired boy called worriedly out for him lifting the blond's upper body up and pulling him into a strong embrace.

Temari sighed relieved and the doctor smiled. Naruto just held on to Sasuke exhausted and shivering not saying a word.

"We should bring him back to bed." Temari heard the medic say when she stood up and reached out for Uchiha's shoulder. "I need to check his current state and he needs to rest."

Reluctantly Sasuke allowed the woman to pull Naruto away from him and with his help brought him back to the bed. Then she turned to Temari. "Take your guest out please, while I check on Naruto-sama."

Nodding Temari nodded Sasuke to follow, but the stubborn boy refused to move from where he stood. "Uchiha, you can't be of anymore help. Let the doctor do her work. Naruto will be alright, your presence might simply cause him more stress than it's good for him."

Still not moving, Temari walked over to him and pulled him along out of the room muttering whether all Uchiha's were so annoying. But Sasuke didn't even register unable to take his eyes from Naruto.

---------------

Unaware of the danger in which Naruto had been a few moments earlier, Gaara stood in the water of the little stream; away from the group he was currently traveling with. Having taken his clothing off earlier, he felt his body starting to relax slowly to the calmness around him. He closed his eyes lifting his face to meet the light of the moon. His mind emptied all thoughts leaving him in a comforted state of silence.

It was good, this calmness around him. It allowed him to bring order to his chaotic world that tried to suffocate him with all its noises, confusing him and trapping him into reality.

He could forget that killing without reasons had taken almost all of his emotions from him. He could become oblivious to the fact that Naruto of all people was stirring the dormant feelings inside awake, stinging with his smile the walls that he had created around him when he had killed his uncle.

It made him uneasy, these regained thoughts about friendship and family.

He had come to realize that when Temari, Kankuro or Naruto were near, he could say that he was willing to stain his hands red with blood to protect them, because they were the only ones who left him intact, the ones who made him feel alive, when he had seen only hate and despise directed at him for all his life.

At last he knew he was real...

That was all he needed.

Something tingled lightly in the distance.

Gaara ignored it at first, but as the steady and repeating sound started to get closer, he decided to walk out of the water and dress up again. He wasn't really disturbed by the sound as much as by the fact that whoever caused it would surely meet up with the Hokage and her people. Up from this point on, there was only one way out and into the village, which meant that they would see their camp since they had settled close to the road.

Swiftly he made his way listening with his demon's wider hearing range to the approaching sound. Maybe he could check the people coming out first, before alarming the others. It might simply be someone from the village out on a mission.

He jumped up a tree and hurried towards the sound.

In the dark he saw two figures approaching. They had large hats on and on their dark cloaks Gaara could see various reddish clouds. He noticed that the sound was caused by a small round bell hanging from the smaller one's hat. Narrowing his eyes, he crutched down on a branch to observe.

The small one stopped and turned to him startling Gaara. Hidden in the shadows he could see a pair of Sharingan eyes looking up to him.

"Itachi Uchiha..." the name escaped Gaara' lips.

---------------

Sasuke stopped Temari once he was outside of Naruto's room. "What's wrong with him?!" he questioned and she could see that he was irritated and nervous. Or maybe he was still in a state of shock watching his friend almost die before his eyes.

She fixed him with her eyes for a long time, but he didn't blink even once. He just starred at her impatiently. Closing her eyes she wondered for a moment how Uchiha had made it this far into the Village without Gaara being here, but then remembered having heard that Tsune had returned only in company of a stranger that resembled the older Uchiha. At first she had concluded, when the news had come to her, that Itachi had returned with Tsune and had probably talked to the Nine-Tails, but then she had thought it strange considering that part of the agreement between Naruto and Itachi Uchiha was to keep Tsune in the dark for the time being.

Not feeling really up to give Sasuke an explanation she turned her back to him and moved the sliding door at the other side of the corridor aside giving view to a garden and a cave opening. She moved to walk out and simply ignore the dark haired boy next to her, but he got a hold of her arm and held her back forcefully.

"Tell me what's wrong with him!" he demanded.

"He's dying." She stated forcing Sasuke's hand of her with her free hand. "His heart's muscles were put under a lot of pressure during the fight with Orochimaru and it appeared that he had already had had a problem with it to start with. The fight only worsened his state damaging a great part of the organ. The medical ninja's of the village were barely able to return him to life." She stepped out into the garden. "Had it been anyone else but him, he would have already been dead. Still, he is still not fully healed and you probably just caused a set-back with just appearing before him."

"I did what?" he looked startled at her. "I just stood there and he came walking to _me_!" he gestured with his hand at himself.

Looking back with narrowed eyes at him she said accusingly: "Exactly! He _came_ towards _you!_" she gestured displeased with her hand in the air. "He shouldn't even get out of bed without help! He could have very well have died out there or maybe worse!!" she could only imagine what would have happened if the Nine-Tails had been suddenly freed completely from his seal. She was somehow glad this hadn't occurred when Naruto had escaped to see Itachi.

She snorted. _Uchiha!_ That family was turning out to be a problem, or maybe she was just feeling bitter towards Sasuke because in a matter of seconds the trust that Gaara had placed on her had almost been destroyed and she had nowhere else to vent off. She knew he couldn't really blame Uchiha for Naruto's action, less alone for a relapse. It was true that Naruto had been doing well earlier, but she was also aware how good an actor that boy was when he wanted to. Probably not wanting her to baby-sit him anymore, he had simply suppressed his really bad state from her.

Frustrated she glared back at Sasuke. She watched him, his face having turned to the side and he looked guiltily to the ground biting down on his lower lip. Maybe she had gone to far giving him the feeling that it was his fault, but she currently didn't care whether she had hurt this boy's feelings or not.

For a very strange reason she wished that at least Kankuro, if not Gaara, where there with her.

---------------

Naruto found himself suddenly forced back into the brightness and insufferable reality of life. Someone held him strongly but he could do no more than hold onto that person, he couldn't even register who it was. His body ached painfully and he wanted to sink back into the welcoming darkness he had just been pulled out from.

Hands forced him to his feet but he could barely drag them after him. Thankful to being laid back into a soft mattress, he heard people speak when someone touched his forehead before forcing one of his eyes open. Moaning in protest at this, he barely registered someone speaking to him in a calm voice. It was a familiar voice, he had heard it before, but couldn't associate it at the moment to a name.

He let his mind drift deeper into unconsciousness sinking into a world of memories and nightmares.

Doubts and fears rose in him as another consciousness reached out to his, but Naruto forced it back behind the bars that would keep it away from him. He didn't want that other mind to know the things that went on in his head, he did not want to share the feelings that dwelled inside of him.

For a moment he remembered having seen someone important before him. Recalled having walked towards that person before the pain had struck him down. In his mind he barely remembered having thought of sharing an important secret with that person, having wanted to tell him everything about himself, but his older and wiser self could well imagine the reaction such a thing would cause. Sweating in cold fever, he had dreamed of how thing would turn out, if he told him the secrets that the younger part of his mind wanted to share but the older feared to let out into the world.

_Sasuke watched horrified as the red haired called Tsune slammed Naruto's weakened body against the nearest wall. The blond's head rebounded on the wooden surface and the face tightened in obvious pain. Naruto let out a muffled cry while he tried to find some focus with his eyes._

"_WHY?!!" Tsune growled dangerously as he kept the other's body pinned to the wall, the cheer difference in their strength terrified Naruto._

_He could see Sasuke shuddering at the voice. It was the sound of a demon. The power that the voice beheld couldn't be human. Naruto watched as Sasuke tried to get up to his feet again but a jutsu held him forced to the ground. Sasuke had to watch frustrated while Naruto whimpered unable to do anything against it. _

"_Why?" Tsune repeated his voice sounding hurt now._

_Tears formed in the blonds eyes. "Because..." he cried now. "Because I care..." he sobbed. "I care for Sasuke..."_

_Tsune grabbed furiously his shoulders and shook him desperate. "And what about me?!"_

"_I... I care for you too..." Naruto squirmed. "But Sasuke..."_

"_You're betraying me..." Tsune whispered and Sasuke was barely able to hear it. "You are betraying _us_ for _him_?!!" Red aura flashed around the two of them as he snapped irritated and angry._

_Naruto looked ashamed away. "Yes."_

"_I ..." he let go of the blond stepping away. "I can't believe you..." he said distressed._

_Naruto tumbled to the ground unable to stop crying, unable to do anything else..._

No, he couldn't tell the boy because the demon within would once more feel betrayed and the older Naruto knew far too well what had happened last time he had done such. He recalled to vividly the horrors that had followed his insolence.

Yet he couldn't very well lie either, because that would betray the friendship he had so earnestly fought to get, the acceptance he had wanted from the other.

He was trapped in his mind not only by his own character, but also by the consequences his actions could cause. He didn't want Sasuke to hate him. For whatever reasons, that was the last thing he wanted. But he had to think of Tsune as well because they were both confined into this small shell of flesh.

Could he lie? To them all even to himself? Would that be the solution to his problems? Honesty would certainly not bring him any further...But to lie? He had never lied since he had been given a second chance... This younger version had not yet sunken into the dark world that the untruth could bring.

To lie...

Not to be honest...

Lying...

But what was really a lie?

A lie was a statement made knowing that it was not the truth, a misleading impression given to other people.

The dark... Dark could also be a lie. People say: '...keep it dark...' meaning that they don't want anyone else to know. Yet it could also describe the lack of light or simply a sad feeling.

In his case it was all that together and a bit more.

The lies and the dark that surrounded him mirrored the torment that dwelled within his soul, while he desperately tried to hide the facts about this nature.

He was the darkness that had been asleep, while under the influence of the seal with his memories as the Yondaime locked deep within his consciousness.

Coming closer to waking again, his thoughts started to become more that of his younger self. It was somehow amusing that most people who knew him considered him generally to be a bright and lively person. That might very well have been so, before the seal started to malfunction, but in reality he was the opposite. The old him knew that he had been the one who had corrupted that Wild Spirit that was the Nine-Tails, he was the source of many deaths and no one actually was aware.

If he had never gotten lost in the woods outside Shadow Village...If he had never laid eyes upon the mighty creature... If... if...if...

But 'if' did no longer matter now. He couldn't change the past, but he could prevent continuing to corrupt his soul further. He just had to outwit Itachi somehow and finally give Tsune what he had tried all those years ago. A right to live for the mistakes he had committed as a mortal... as a human.

He just needed to say goodbye to the only person that kept 'Naruto' attached to this reality.

He opened his eyes not feeling any pain for the first time in a long time and looked at the medic hovering over him with a worried expression.

He would again stain his hands with sins, if that was the price to make up for his past and to please everyone with what they deserved and wanted.

And once again he came to the conclusion, as so many years ago, that if it paid to be honest he wouldn't be here...

---------------------------------

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**A/N: **

Well, the plot is proceeding slowly, I know, but it helps the better understanding then when I rush things.

Let me know if you liked this chapter.

BTW is Neji's eye-thing really called Byakugan? I couldn't remember and I couldn't find the part where they named it in the manga. And Gaara's demons was it Shukaku or Shakaku?

See ya


	9. Chapter 08

A/N:

Don't say it! (holds her hands up defensively) I already know that's been ages since I've updated this story. I'm deeply sorry, but you may all blame Itachi for it.

You see I used to be a strictly Sasu/Naru fan and then someone _had _to point me to a fic with Itachi/Naru. It was so hilarious that… well, I was kidnapped into that realm. (sigh)

It made writing on a Sasu/Naru kind of hard for a while and to top that my hard-drive _and_ my back-up hard-drive both died of me in the course of a month.

I've lost all my notes on most of my stories. I spend weeks in frustration trying to recover as much as I could, which frankly wasn't much.

So, I guess, sorry for this super-late update.

For those who are still reading the story, thank you and please enjoy this chapter. It's a bit short, but I wanted to at least post something, before more time passed.

To anyone who reviewed: Thank you sooooo much!! They make me feel great about my work, and special thanks to those who wrote to me about Gaara's name and the Byakugan.

I'll better stop babbling. 

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter Eight **

The boy opened his eyes, one was red the other blue. Color had returned to his features and his breathing had calmed after a few moments. The initial shock after being forced to live again had apparently ceased and the boy was once again conscious.

She sighed, and after checking once more with her Byakugan that the energy flow in the boy's body had stabilized, she closed them returning them to normal. "Either you are a lucky fool, or you are extremely determined not to die just yet."

The boy starred at her calmly. "If _he_ had not returned, we would have probably died. So, I guess, I _am _lucky." His different colored eyes irritated her, the blue more than the red one that looked like a cat's. "Sensei… I'd like to talk to the elders…Especially to the man who told you about the Fourth Hokage…"

The red eye narrowed slightly, probably nothing more than a twitch, but the glint in it was curious unlike the blue one's calm and determined shine.

"I don't think so, Naruto-sama. You might feel alright again, but let me tell you, as your supervising medic, you are not allowed to leave this bed until I tell you so." She crossed her arms angry. "You saw what it did to you just a few moments ago!!"

"I don't intent to go against your order, sensei. They will come to me, if you tell them this…"

She listened to his words not really understanding the twisted meaning of them, but she could sense the importance of it. Whether that was due the intensity of the boy's eyes or his manner of speaking, she couldn't really tell.

Naruto watched her nod quickly once he finished and the medic left the room.

"…And maybe I am indeed a fool…" he whispered

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"Subaku no Gaara." Itachi said allowing the red haired boy's name to draw out like hissing snake.

Gaara turned his eyes warily to Itachi's companion, before concentrating again on the smaller man.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha?" Gaara asked, readying his sand for an attack or defense if needed.

"My business is my own." The older one answered calmly.

Something was wrong, Gaara thought, but he couldn't press the matter to be revealed with violence. The laws of the Shadow Village were clear on this.

_"Never be he first to act, for we are the Shadow, we are the companions of all and such it must stay until we are threatened directly."_

The elder's words echoed in his head as a warning. Gaara needed to learn to control his emotions in order to make rational decision and that involved knowing the difference between ones allies and enemies.

"If you are here for my Bijuu-"

The tall man next to Itachi snorted. "You kids always think that everything revolves around you."

"Kisame!" Itachi growled in warning, but the other man just smiled amused as though he was conversing with a child and not a clan-murdering man.

Green eyes narrowed suspiciously watching the elder pair's interaction, yet Gaara knew how to remain calm to the outside.

The elder Uchiha turned back to him, watching and wondering in return how much he could manipulate the younger boy for his goal and ultimately outwit the Yondaime.

Though tt was true that Naruto had agreed to work with him and relent his control of the Kyuubi to him, if Itachi provided him with information, he was not stupid enough to trust the boy's words face fault. Especially someone who had lied about his existence even beyond his supossed death.

Although Itachi's memories of his child hood were limited to the vied of a child, he had easily recognized the power the Yondaime had wielded. It wasn't so much the physical presence that had been overwhelming, but the man's ability to convince others for his cause.

Arashi, as Naruto had been called then, had been an expert at manipulating people by bending their minds and hearts to his will. The man had had a knack for understanding people better than they understood themselves, which consequently was the real way to manipulate someone to your will, as Itachi had learned in the later years.

It went so far, that most people didn't even realize that they were being used in the first place. The man could make it look like it had been someone else's idea all along. That way, he had always managed to convince people to carry out his wished even going to the extreme in which men refused to not help him.

It would only be a matter of time before Naruto would gain access to all his memories with Itachi's help, and then… Then Itachi must be prepared to face the lies beneath the lies and recognize his wish as his own before Naruto could use his mind to twist the truth and lie once more in a way that you believed it as told truth.

Arashi had not been a Kage for nothing, he was a frightening opponent when in full strength.

But Itachi had grown… he had learned…

He would not fail himself.

"Tell me…" Itachi started, "do you know the nature calling of the Kyuubi?"

Gaara didn't move, but his eyes turned cold and dangerous. "I will not allow you to harm Naruto." He warned them.

Kisame snorted a laugh again. "Do not worry, neither the brat nor you are of interest for us now."

"Then what do you want?"

Itachi watched him, picking carefully his next words, he said in a low voice. "Have you had your trust in yourself betrayed, boy?"

There was no answer, the only way Itachi could tell that he had been heard was the clenching of fists from the other.

"Will you die for a lie?"

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Naruto sat at the border of his bed, feeling better than he had in a long time. His eyes scanned the artificial light out side his window for a moment, before turning his focus to the figure lying next to him on the bed.

Tsune was sleeping.

Helping in the process of healing had drained him more than Naruto himself, the blond realized, but glad that he would have a few moments for himself.

It wasn't that he minded the other, on the contrary, Naruto needed him close, but sometimes it was better to be alone with his thought yet have the physical closeness of another. It was reassuring in a strange way.

He smiled sadly down at the red-haired.

In that sense the blond had always been selfish, then as much as now, which gave the reason to why he had done another clone for his 'prisoner'.

Naturo allowed his eyes to wander over to the white cloak hanging over the chair next to his bed. The dark writings of the Kanji contrasting strongly to the white of the clothing, stirring a long forgotten fondness in him awake.

He wasn't sure, how or when it had ended in his room, he had been too tired previously to even register anyone's presence earlier, but he was sure that it had been send by the man who had spoken up for him in the Village Council.

Someone who knew the truth of Arashi's demise… Someone who at least knew the part of the reasons of Naruto's existence…

The blond's features turned suddenly cold and calculating.

Pieces of the Chess Game were being revealed, and Naruto knew that he would need all his wits about to be once more able to keep up and win. He would need to asset how much he was threatened, how many of the lies were being unfolded and if there was a chance that he might gain an ally instead of one more enemy.

There were still holes in his mind, things he could or didn't want to remember and remained in the dark. But Naruto knew that even if he never knew everything, he was a genius at improvising. He would just have to see how the pieces would be moved, before revealing more of his strategy.

Naruto touched fondly the white cloak that was the Yondaime's. Strange how he now did not difference between the old him and the young boy he was physically. How things had changed and he could not hinder its continuation.

He would need to learn to play the game once more.

Tsune stirred next to him, and Naruto reached instinctively out to sooth his companion. The demon relaxed under his touch and drifted deeper into sleep.

"If I lie to you, will you forgive my deceiving?" Naruto whispered leaning over Tsune's body and pressing their foreheads together. "But if I tell you the truth will you understand me?"

A light knock on his door made the blond look up. "Come in." he called straightening and turning to look at the door.

Temari opened the door. She looked disapprovingly at Tsune's form but otherwise remained silent.

"Are they here?" Naruto asked seeing as she was not going to speak.

She nodded sternly before moving towards him to help him to his feet.

"I do not think this is a good idea." She said her voice kept low in order not to disturb the other's rest.

"Well, then it is good that I'm not asking for your opinion." He replied sheepishly, allowing the child in him to arise.

She muttered something unintelligently under her breath as she steadied his stance on his feet.

"Hand me the cloak, please."

Temari looked intrigued at him, but Naruto remained quiet. Helping him slip into the slightly too long cloak, she linked her arm around his waist and headed for the door with him.

He could feel her body's tension against him emanating waves of disapproval, but he needed to make his next move, before the rest of Konohagure would be here for him. He would need this village's help, for his plan to work, and for that he would need all the back-up he could muster, even if it meant to at least speak the truth once.

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_Sasuke__ found himself standing in a hallway, Temari and the red-haired Naruto each standing on one side blocking the path.__ There was a bizarre way in which they both moved a they approached him, but the distance between them never seem to waver._

_He moved to observe Temari moving towards. "You do anything to Naruto and I kill you." She whispered loud enough for him to hear as she walked passed him and the other boy giving him a warning touch with her fan._

_He turned to her, but the hallway was already empty._

_"Are you coming or not?" the red-haired Naruto asked while turning to walk away as well in the opposite direction of the girl._

_It only took Sasuke a moment to decide which one to follow._

_The red-haired lead him outside into an open space with no artificial light as in the cave city. His eyes shut close as the bright sight before him blinded him. He heard the ruffling of clothing as the Naruto-look alike proceeded on without waiting for him. Needing a moment to adjust his eyes to the light, the footsteps started to fade from his hearing range. Trying to see through the bright blur before him, his surrounding started to fade slowly into focus._

_Trees… _

_Lots of trees…_

_An unnatural circle of trees…_

_Sasuke's__ eyes scanned the area searching for the red haired. At first he didn't see him, but then he found him sitting on a bench that was half hidden behind a tree. One leg dangled on each side, his hands rested on the wooden surface. It occurred to Sasuke that the other's posture was almost like a child's. There was a strange and unnatural way that surrounded the red haired. It had been there all along through their journey, but it was now, that he appeared more relaxed, that Sasuke found it rather unnerving._

_The other didn't bother to look back to him as he leaned his head forward and out of Sasuke's sight. A hand reached from behind the tree and laid itself on the red-haired hair caressing it gently, almost motherly. The red-haired seemed to rub his face into the one next to him or at least it appeared like that, if the way his body and head moved indicated anything._

_Sasuke__ moved closer, each step giving him more view of the person next to the other. Each moving feet towards the pair made his heart race a bit faster. And the more he saw, the more he knew for sure that the one sitting there was Naruto._

_He started to run towards the pair, but his feet felt heavy to him, and just like before the distance did not diminish._

_"Naruto!"__ Sasuke called out, but his voice was carried away by the wind. "Naruto!"_

_And then suddenly the red-haired Naruto turned, a pair of blue eyes starring back at him accusingly. _

_"Your hands are smeared in my blood." The boy said with an angry and unnatural voice. "You do not deserve my forgiveness, traitor." The other growled in fury before both Narutos stood up and walked away from him. And with every step they took from him, the darkness increased around Sasuke until he felt like he was being suffocated by it._

_"Naruto!!"_

Sasuke awoke with a start.

Panic and adrenaline pumped through his body and it took him moment to realize where he was.

Breathing rapidly he brought a hand up to his face in order to calm himself.

It had only been a dream.

A knock on his door startled him and he sat partially up in the bed he had been given to rest after his journey.

"Come in." he said, trying to ignore his sweaty hands and still slightly shaking body.

The door was pulled to the side and Temari came inside.

"I heard you scream." The blond stated with a hint of worry in her tone. "Are you alright?"

He nodded slowly not answering feeling too emotionally drained from the dream to come up with a snappy reply.

The girl watched him for a while without saying anything. "You might want to know that the Hokage and her companions arrived at the Village Gate not too long ago." Temari stated, not bothering to further intrude on his personal matters, which made Sasuke feel kind of grateful towards her. Sakura would never have let it go just like that.

"What about Naruto?"

At this, the blond girl sighed, looking tired and more annoyed than worried. "He's fine. He's currently in a meeting with the Village Elders and the Council." She explained leaning against the door frame and crossing her arms. "I'm sure you can speak to him afterwards, since he doesn't seem to bother dropping dead from exhaustion every now and then." She added bitterly.

"He's troublesome, right?" Sasuke asked raising an eyebrow and feeling his heart rate returning slowly to normal.

"More like a handful, but yes." She answered him.

They looked at each other for a moment in silence, each deep in their own thought. It was Temari who interrupted their calm again.

"You might want to get changed." She pointed at another door in the room, which he deduced must lead to a bathroom. "I'll have someone bring you something to eat and then I'm sure the Hokage would like to speak to you when they arrive here. After all, you left your village once again without permission." She added before pushing herself from the door frame and heading out again. "You and Naruto should both learn to think before acting."

Sasuke sighed when the door finally closed and he was left alone again.

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The elders had entered shortly after Naruto himself had been brought to this room by Temari. He could feel Tsune still sleeping in the back of his mind, and he was grateful for it. He didn't want to get him anymore involved in this than he had agreed with the elder Uchiha.

They were all sitting on cushions on the ground in a circle, seven men and nine women.

"Naruto-sama." The elderly looking woman to his right spoke up. "You had us called here, and yet you have said nothing so far."

Naruto turned his face to look at her calmly, his mind already calculating and evaluating who he could play with, who would join him, who was friends with whom and who would turn out to be his best approach to convince them to his cause. The boy had to sleep now, this was adult matters and as Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, he focused on his knowledge as Arashi.

It was his time to make a move once again.

"I was informed that one of you spoke up for me, revealing my connection to the Yondaime of Konohagure." He said opening his eyes again and looking at the others around him.

The council members nodded slowly.

"Yet, I think you were not told the complete story behind it." Naruto spoke up again, before any of the others could speak up.

The air vibrated with sudden curiosity. The blond analyzed quickly everyone's reactions to his words, always wanting to be a step ahead.

_Hook…._

"One of you, though I cannot say who, seems to know more about me than he let on to begin with." He allowed his voice to get mysterious tone, knowing from experience how people reacted to when their curiosity was spiked. "He knew to send me this." He said lifting the hem of his cloak. "Knew the truth beyond the name of Uzumaki Naruto…"

_Line…_

"He knew that I'm in truth Arashi of the Shadow Village, Yondaime of Konohagure."

_and__ sinker…_

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Tsune growled waking slowly up, but did not bother to open his eyes. His body felt stiff and he had the feeling to have been sleeping on the ground for hours. Not that such a thing would be bad, in his opinion it was much more comfortable than a matt, but this human body didn't seem to agree with him.

He snuggled deeper into the covers reaching out next to him. He narrowed his eyebrows at the empty and cold space that he came in contact with. Cracking an eye open he saw that he was alone in bed. Annoyed at the absence of his Chibi, he sighed somewhat frustrated.

It was clear to Tsune that the moment he had touched Naruto when he had arrived, both of them had started feeling immediately better. He had sensed how their skin seemed to have absorbed the life from the other making them whole again. Tsune had wanted nothing more than to sink into that sensation of becoming one. As irritating as this thought was, he had felt so good at that moment.

He stretched lazily like a cat before sitting up. He had to look for his host. He was hungry and he wanted comfort. He wanted Naruto to take this artificial flesh back into nothingness and allow him to return to the prison within, because at least there, he didn't not feel the anguish of this dying body.

There he was just aware of Naruto dying…

It wasn't him…

Or at least he could try to fool himself that way, so that he didn't have to admit that if one of them should die, the other automatically would follow.

He licked the back of his hand and passed it absently a few times over this sleepy face. Yawning, he got out of bed not bothering with the fact that he was just wearing Naruto's pants and made his way towards where he could sense the Chibi.

He wondered whether the boy had talked to Uchiha…

Whether Naruto had bothered to reveal their secret and tell the other who Tsune was… who he _really_ was…

"Kyuubi."

Tsune turned around lazily facing Temari holding a tablet with food. Probably for him, he could smell the almost raw meat. The Chibi didn't like it that way; he said that it was like devouring a living animal. Although Tsune had found that statement amusing at first, it had made him depressed the next moment, because it was like affirming that he was no longer himself, but a being trapped in a human shell.

"We need to talk." She said slowly; almost unsure…

He shrugged and noticed her to lead the way. Again he passed the back of his hand over his face, she looked strangely at him and he had the feeling that whatever it was that she wished to tell him, it was not going to pleasant.

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A/N:

Sorry for the shortness and the slow progress of the story. I don't want to rush this too much and I'll try to at least reach the 4000 words in the next chapter.

Please review.


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